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THE 



Life or John P. Ceozer. 



BY 



Jf WHEATON SMITH, D.D. 




PHILADELPHIA : 

AMEKICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 
530 ARCH STREET. 



7 Qv 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by 

AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern 
District of Pennsylvania. 



Westcott & Thomson, 
Stereotypers, Philada. 



TO HER 

WHO LOVED HIM IN HIS YOUTH, 

WHOSE BKAVE HEAKT CHEEKED HIM IN HIS 
EAELY STKUGGLES, 

WHO, IN HIS HOUSEHOLD, BORE THE SACRED NAME OF 
WIFE, 

THIS STORY OF HIS LIFE IS AFFECTIONATELY 
INSCRIBED BY HER FRIEND, 

THE AUTHOR. 



XQOJi 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTEE I. 
BIRTH-PLACE. 

PAGE 

The old Mansion in Springfield — Its little Nursery — Benjamin 
West — His First Effort in Art — His early Studies — The Nur- 
sery has a new Occupant — The Artist and the Philanthropist... 13 

CHAPTEE II. 
PARENTAGE. 

Immigration of Pour Brothers — Mr. Crozer's Paternal Grandfather 
— The Grandfather's Marriage — His Maternal Grandfather — 
His Pather and Mother 17 

CHAPTEE III. 

BROTHERS AND SISTERS. 

His two Sisters — His two Brothers — James, the Elder Brother — 
Samuel, the Younger — His Mechanical Genius — Love of Study 
— Goes to Africa on a Philanthropic Mission — Early Death — 
Origin of Mr. Crozer's Concern for the African Race 20 

CHAPTEE IV. 

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. 

The Paternal Farm — Early Recollections — The Stone School-house 
— -Master Taylor — Master Doane — The Mystery of " Carrying" 
— Master Pardee — Improvement in Teaching since that Day — 
1 * 5 



6 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Religious Influences — The Society of Friends — The Lord's Day 
— A Mother's Teaching and Influence — Dr. Staughton — A 
Funeral Sermon in the Country — Wayside Efforts often the 
most largely Blessed — Baptism of Mr. Crozer and his Sister — 
Mental Improvement — The Pennock Family 24 

CHAPTEK V. 

LIFE AS A FARMER. 

His Father's Farm — Scanty Help — " Small Business" — Comes of 
Age — Death of his Father and Mother — Alone in the Home- 
stead — Poor Prospects — Vain Planning — Interesting Letter 34 

CHAPTEK VI. 

JOURNEY TO THE WEST. 

Personal Appearance — His Black Mare — Shaker Settlement — Cin- 
cinnati — Valley of the Wabash — New Harmony — Robert Dale 
Owen — Visit to Kentucky — Journey Home — Sale of the Home- 
stead 41 

CHAPTEK VII. 
ESTABLISHMENT IN BUSINESS. 

Grain and Saw Mill — Disappointment — Begins to Spin Cotton — 
More Disappointment — Commences Weaving — It does not 
Pay — Rigid Economy — Ready to give up — A Timely Loan — 
Success at last 50 

CHAPTEK VIII. 

HOME AT WEST BRANCH. 

Slow and steady Progress — Purchases a Mill at West Branch — 
Marriage — Commences Housekeeping — Accumulates by Saving 
— Care for his Operatives — His First-born Son — Builds a 
School-house — Serious Loss — Begins to Weave — Purchases 
another Mill — Removal of his Home 61 



CONTENTS. 
CHAPTEK IX. 

HOME AT CROZERVILLE. 



PAGE 



Increased Spiritual Life — Diary Commenced — A Strike and its Re- 
sults — Temperance Cause — Help for Workmen — Severe Acci- 
dent — Long Confinement — A Flood — Loss of a large Fortune 
—Press of Work 72 

CHAPTEE X. 
HOME AT UPLAND. 

Original name of Chester — Change by William Penn — Care for 
Ministers — Tour in Pennsylvania — Thanksgiving Day — Jus- 
tice to his own Denomination— Opinion of Office-seeking — 
Building of House of Worship at Upland — Opening of House 
of Worship — Death of a Daughter — Joy from Sorrow — Church 
Organized — University at Lewisburg — Donation of Dr. David 
Jayne, Mr. Bucknell and Mr. Crozer — Liberal offer to Uni- 
versity — Large Expenditures — Singing in Public Worship — 
In the Sunday-school — As a Worshiper— Normal School — Cor- 
respondence with Dr. Wayland — Disappointment in the School 
—Ministerial Education — Sunday-school Library Fund — Bap- 
tism of a Son — Death of Mr. James M. Linnard — Early rising 
— In the Church — Chosen Deacon — In Prayer-meetings — Love 
for his Mother — Ministers' Library Fund — Endowment of 
University — Adieu to Christian Commission — Remarkable 
Birthday Record 128 

CHAPTEE XI. 

LIFE AT ITS CLOSE. 

Opening of his Seventy-fourth Year — His Continued Growth — 
Estimate of his Character — His Business Capacity — His Tastes 
— His Love of Books — A man of Education — Difference be- 
tween Learning and Education — William Pitt and Adam 
Smith — Education by Business and by Books — Decision of 
Character — The Idea of Stewardship — " Habits of Virtue" — 
A Christian Man — Love for Christ the Inspiration of his Life 
— Manliness and Godliness — Concern for Freedmen — Proposed 
Tour through the South — Illness — Returns from Petersburg — 



8 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Tour of Dr. Griffith and the Author — Summoned Home from 
Memphis — Dangerous Illness of Mr. Crozer — On a Dying Bed 
— Looking to the Great Physician — Letters to Messrs. J. S. 
Newbold and Geo. H. Stuart — Charge to his Family — " Jesus 
is my All" — " Work for Jesus" — " No anxiety — No affright" — 
Prayer for his Family — His last Song — The final Response — 
At Rest 213 

CHAPTEE XII. 
"and their works do follow them." 

The Funeral — Honors to his Memory — Extract from Will — Tributes 
of Regard — Crozer Memorial Fund — Acceptance of the Trust 
—Prayer by Dr. B. T. Welch— Report by Dr. S. L. Caldwell— 
Crozer Theological Seminary — The First Suggestion — Hesita- 
tion — Resolutions by Ministers in Philadelphia — Hesitancy 
gone — Decision of his Family — Endowment — Charter Obtained 
— Institution Organized — His Largest Work 238 



PREFACE. 



SOON after the death of the late Joins' R 
Ckoz.k, a desire for some history of 
his life was quite generally expressed. His 
family, therefore, took counsel with their 
friends, and modestly shrank from any pub- 
lication of memoirs, unless, in the judgment 
of others, the work would be a means of 
Christian usefulness. On the examination of 
this question, his friends did not forget that 
personal friendship and affection often exag- 
gerate the usefulness and magnify the virtues 
of those we love, and often give prominence 
in print to characters of only ordinary merit ; 
yet, notwithstanding, it was decided, without a 



10 PREFACE. 

question or a doubt, to prepare the story of 
his life. 

His papers were placed at the disposal of 
the author of this volume. They consisted 
of a few letters, of a narrative containing the 
incidents of his early life as recorded by him- 
self, and two thousand one hundred and thirty 
closely-written ledger pages of diary. After 
reading and " inwardly digesting " this mate- 
rial, the importance of the work was apparent. 
The Diary, written for no eye but his own, 
was evidently the key to his outward life. 
With that outward life, during its more 
important period, the author had been per- 
sonally acquainted ; he was now permitted to 
look upon its secret springs and study its 
hidden forces. He had known him inti- 
mately and loved him well, but now records 
his heartfelt conviction that he had signally 
failed to appreciate his worth. With ample 
material for a larger volume, the smaller size 
has been preferred, with the purpose of secu- 



PREFACE, 11 

ring a larger circulation and a more extended 
usefulness for this record of a noble Christian 
life. 

The work of composition has been per- 
formed in the heat of summer and in the 
midst of other work. It is earnestly desired 
that no fault of the author may be suffered to 
mar the symmetry of a life of singular excel- 
lence and beauty, and that the spirit of Chris- 
tian charity, which so richly abounded in him, 
may be found large enough to cover — while 
it cannot conceal — the imperfections of his 
biographer. 



Life of John P. Ckozer 



CHAPTER I. 

BIRTH-PLACE. 

TEN miles west of Philadelphia, in that part of 
Springfield which is now called West Dale, in 
Delaware County, Pennsylvania, there stands an old 
but still substantial dwelling. It is a square stone 
structure, whose low piazza, small windows, and 
antique roof remind you of the olden time. Stand- 
ing apart from other habitations, and partially hid- 
den from the country road in the shadow of a few 
old trees, it has an air of quiet seclusion amount- 
ing almost to loneliness. The ground which rises 
gently to the north protects it from the colder winds, 
while southward the prospect stretches far away 
to hills beyond the Delaware. It is a place well 
suited to attract attention. The stranger stops to 
ask its history — nor does he stop in vain. Strange 
memories cluster around this venerable mansion* It 
was reared amid the scenes of savage life. The snows 
that fell upon its new-laid roof fell also on the wig- 

2 13 



14 LIFE OF JOHN P. GEOZEB. 

warn of the Indian. TTithm sight of its eastern 
gable a little town that nestled in the bosom of the 
forest has grown to be the fourth city of the civilized 
world. A race has vanished since its walls were 
built ; another has supplied its place ; and now from 
this old roof-tree the eye may sweep a landscape dotted 
with fertile fields, with happy homes, with snowy sails, 
and note the wonders which an era of eventful pro- 
gress has evoked. And yet it stands unchanged — 
save here and there some moss-grown fissure in its 
solid masonry — linking the hard vicissitudes of an 
early settlement to the comforts and inrprovements of 
modern times; at once a monument of the old, a 
witness of the new. 

Nor is it remarkable for its age alone. In the 
attic, under that old gambrel, was produced a picture 
which challenged the admiration of art in the chief 
city of Europe. The little nursery on the southwest* 
corner — there where a woodbine clings above the 
windows — gave an American president to the Royal 
Academy of England, the successor of Sir Joshua Rey- 
nolds, the friend and companion of George the Third. 
It is the birth-place of Benjamin West, the famous 
American painter. Here, when a boy of less than 
seven years old, he sat watching the slumbers of his 
sister's child ; suddenly a smile brightened the infant's 
* Sometimes stated the northwest. 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEE. 15 

face; the babe slept on, but the genius of the lad 
awoke. Seizing a pen, and with only black and red 
ink for his colors, he sketched a likeness of surpassing 
merit. His mother found him at his task; and, sur- 
prised by his success, exclaimed, "I declare, he has 
made a likeness of little Sallie!" In this same old 
mansion, with red and yellow from the Indians, blue 
from his mother's indigo, and brushes from the tail 
of the household cat, he pursued his work; and two 
years afterwards, when not yet nine years old, he had 
transformed the old attic into a studio, and with bet- 
ter materials was working at his first original. Be- 
ginning each morning with the dawn, and forgetful 
alike of parents and of school, he became so thoroughly 
absorbed in his work as to awaken anxiety by his 
absence. When search was instituted his mother 
found him in the attic, but her inclination to anger 
subsided on beholding his performance: she kissed 
him with rapture, and procured his pardon from her 
husband and the schoolmaster. The picture was 
completed ; and when sixty-seven years afterwards it 
was exhibited in London, in the same room with the 
"Christ Rejected," it was thought to have touches 
of inventive genius which the artist had never sur- 
passed. 

When this lad had passed from his home in the 
forests of the New World to become the " companion 



16 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE. 

of kings and emperors " in the Old, the old homestead 
became the birth-place of another child, destined also 
to distinction. West had become the President of the 
Royal Academy; nine months had passed since the 
delivery of his fine inaugural; when on the 13th of 
January, 1793, his old place in the little nursery was 
filled by the birth of John Peice Crozer. Nur- 
tured amid the same scenes, sheltered by the same 
roof, playing in childhood in the same old attic, 
enriched even then with the memories of an earlier 
time, the child screw in breadth of thought and fixed- 
ness of purpose, developing genius of another sort 
and taste of a higher order. What circumstances 
awoke and strengthened the sensibilities of this broad- 
browed boy we will not now narrate, but venture the 
thought that unless the picture of "Christ Rejected" 
is better than a life of which Christ himself was the 
light and glory — unless a genius to portray the 
u Death of Socrates " is better than a grace to die with 
a calmness unknown to philosophy, then the artist 
must yield to the philanthropist — and the old mansion 
be remembered as the birth-place of one whose works 
were finer than the arts, even as his monument will 
be more enduring. 



CHAPTER II. 

PARENTAGE. 

IN the early part of the last century, five brothers 
by the name of Crozer emigrated to this country 
from Ireland. Their names were James, Samuel, 
John, Robert, and Andrew. Mr. Crozer descended 
from James, who was his grandfather on his father's 
side. Soon after the arrival of James in this coun- 
try, he married into a family of English descent 
by the name of Gleave, who owned a landed pro- 
perty in Springfield — a property which subsequently 
became his own. He was remembered by his grand- 
son as a venerable man in extreme old age, " wear- 
ing a dressing-gown and cap, and leaning heavily 
on his staff." He lived in Springfield, about half 
. a mile from the residence of his son, and was 
glad to be enlivened at times by the visits and ca- 
resses of his grandchildren. The grandfather of Mr. 
Crozer by his mother's side came from England. 
His name was John Price. He died before the birth 
of his grandson, and no record of him remains. His 
parents were thus American by birth, and natives of 

2* B 17 



18 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

Delaware County, Pennsylvania. His father's name 
was James Samuel, and his mother's Sarah Price; the 
one, as we have seen, being of Irish and the other of 
English descent. His father was a carpenter and 
builder, pursuing this business mainly in the city of 
Philadelphia. When the Revolutionary war put an 
end to building operations, he returned to the scenes 
and employment of his youth; and soon after his 
marriage became the owner of the farm in Springfield, 
where the subject of this memoir Mas born. He 
was a man not only of marked enterprise and energy, 
but also of sterling integrity. Jle possessed informa- 
tion beyond the wants of his immediate calling, and 
to some knowledge of the Latin tongue added a more 
thorough acquaintance with the English classics. The 
w«>rks of standard authors, both in prose and poetry, 
which have come down from his library in the old 
mansion at Springfield, attest his intelligence and 
taste. Much of that love for learning which made 
the son the patron of colleges and schools may be 
fairly ascribed to the library of the father. He seems 
to have been a man of intellectual rather than of 
emotional development — less suited to cultivate the 
affect ions of his children than to command their 
obedience. 

In his religious opinions he was much in sympathy 
with the Society of Friends, then the dominant sect 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEB. 19 

around him, but he never became a member of the 
order, and committed the religious training of his 
children mainly into the hands of their mother. This 
mother was one of the best of women. Although 
feeble in health, and subject to frequent attacks of 
illness accompanied with intense suffering, she toiled 
unceasingly for the welfare of her children and her 
home. She was a meek and unassuming woman, of 
few words, but these spoken in great sincerity — 
especially free from uncharitableness in all its forms ; 
intelligent, warm-hearted, and withal a decided Chris- 
tian. She had been educated as an Episcopalian, but 
it is recorded to her praise that "she loved all wor- 
ship and God's people of whatever name." It was 
her constant aim to instil into the minds of her chil- 
dren the precepts of morality and religion. Such 
influences are never in vain. She lived to witness 
the success of her efforts and rejoice in the established 
character of her children. With John she was espe- 
cially successful. He was devotedly fond of her, and 
attached great sacredness to her counsel. Her mem- 
ory is wrought into the texture of his life. In his 
most religious moments we shall find him thinking 
of his mother, and forty years after he had laid her 
in her grave we find him writing, " Oh, how my old 
heart swells and softens while I write of this dear 
woman, whom I am proud to call my mother !" 



CHAPTER III. 

BEOTHEES AND SISTEES. 

11 HE children of the family were five in number: 
- Elizabeth, who became Mrs. John Lewis; James, 
who was the oldest son; Sarah, who became Mrs. 
Samuel Y. Campbell ; John Price, the subject of this 
narrative; and Samuel, who was the Benjamin of the 
household. The sisters, although older than John, 
survived him. They were both married to most 
excellent Christian men, and arc still living in their 
native county, illustrating in their widowed age the 
excellence of declining years when cheered by the 
refinements of culture and sustained by the consola- 
tions of the Christian faith. 

The brothers of John both passed before him to 
their reward. James, the eldest, at the age of seven- 
teen entered upon mercantile pursuits in Philadelphia. 
Mr. Crozer well remembered the evening before his 
departure, and recalled the thoughtful look and tear- 
ful anxiety of his mother at committing her first-born 
son to the dangers and temptations of a city life — an 
anxiety inexplicable to him then, but afterwards re- 

20 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE. 21 

called and appreciated when he himself had become a 
parent. James was faithful, industrious and upright. 
In his after life he was always characterized by an 
unwavering integrity of purpose ; although somewhat 
peculiar in his temperament, and perhaps unduly 
sensitive, he was esteemed by all who knew him, and 
lived and died a most worthy man. He never 
achieved such success in his business affairs as was 
attained by his more fortunate brother, in whose em- 
ploy the later portion of his life was spent. He died 
at Upland, at the residence of Mr. Crozer, in the 
month of October, 1859, in the seventy-fourth year 
of his age. 

Samuel was more than three years younger than 
John. He evinced in boyhood a strong love for 
mechanical pursuits, and an aversion equally strong 
to work upon the farm. Much of his time was spent 
in his father's workshop, where his skill in making a 
variety of articles soon brought him into notice. His 
ingenuity attracted a good deal of attention in the 
neighborhood, and made him popular with compan- 
ions who were ever ready to follow his lead. At 
seventeen years of age he left home to learn the drug 
business in Philadelphia. Soon after entering upon 
his city life he was led to sincere and humble faith in 
Christ, and at the same time began to manifest a 
strong desire for mental improvement. He now 



22 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEE. 

changed his business, and entered the machine shop 
of Large & Co., then the largest establishment of the 
kind in Philadelphia. He rose rapidly in the estima- 
tion of his employers, who seem to have set a high 
value upon his services. Although busily engaged 
during the day in labor at the shop, his evenings were 
spent in reading and study ; and, being gifted with a 
wonderfully tenacious memory, he acquired knowledge 
with great rapidity. Possessing unusual conversa- 
tional powers, he could impart his knowledge with 
readiness to others, and was esteemed a prodigy by 
his friends and acquaintances. He loved the society 
of the intelligent and good, and wherever he went 
was sure of a kind reception. On the failure of 
Large & Co. in business, Samuel was boarding in the 
family of a fancy chair-maker, and immediately went 
to work at that business. 

He continued thus until, on the death of his parents, 
the paternal estate was divided among the children, 
when he devoted all his time in close application 
to study, living sometimes in the city and sometimes 
in the country. His acquirements were wonderfully 
rapid, and his thirst for knowledge insatiable. The 
day was too short for his researches, and his studies 
were continued into the hours of the night. He 
attended medical lectures, and gave special attention 
to the study of chemistry. The last was his favorite 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 23 

study, and parlor audiences were at times both pleased 
and instructed by his experiments. With an increase 
of knowledge came also a desire to be useful. About 
this time the Colonization Society was fitting out its 
first colony to Africa. The attention of Robert Ral- 
ston, Francis Markoe, and other gentlemen of Phila- 
delphia, was directed to Samuel Crozer as a person 
well suited to take charge of the enterprise. He 
engaged in the service with youthful ardor, and sailed 
from New York in the winter of 1820. He died in 
Africa on the 6th of April following, on board a little 
sloop in the mouth of the Shirbro River, only a few 
weeks after his arrival on the coast. 

The interest which the subject of this narrative 
afterwards felt in the welfare not only of the Coloni- 
zation Society, but in all efforts for the African race, 
had its early beginning in the death of this brother, 
to whom he was tenderly attached. 

With this notice of the parents and the brothers 
and sisters of Mr. Crozer, we shall now dismiss them 
from our narrative, except so far as some one of them 
may occasionally appear in connection with some 
incident of his life. 



CHAPTER IV. 

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. 
1793 — 1810. 

MR. CROZER was born, as already stated, on the 
13th of January, 1793, at the old mansion in 
Springfield. This continued to be his home until he 
reached the twenty-eighth year of his age. The 
farm contains one hundred and seventy-three acres, 
and spreads out beautifully to the eye as you approach 
it from Philadelphia. It was a part of that wide 
stretch of land on the right of the West Chester and 
Philadelphia Railroad, which rises gently to the foot 
of the hill on which Swartmore College, a Friends' 
institution, now stands. The dwelling is located on 
the upper edge of the farm, and from the portico in 
the rear may be seen every acre of the estate. 

Mr. Crozer's earliest recollection of himself reaches 
back to the year 1798. He was then a child of five 
years. He remembered walking in the meadow near 
the house in company with his father and his cousin 
John Moore. The remoteness of the date is fixed 
with certainty by the fact that this cousin died of the 
yellow fever in the summer of that year. The inci- 

24 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEE. 25 

dent is given as illustrating the clearness of his recol- 
lections, since these/ as recorded by himself, furnish 
much that is interesting in the story of his early life. 

The educational advantages of Delaware County, 
at that time, were very limited. About three-fourths 
of a mile from the old mansion there may still be 
seen a little stone school-house. Here, at the age of 
six, John commenced his studies, walking daily to the 
school in company with his sisters and his brother 
James; and here he received all the school education 
he ever had, except a little over one quarter's instruc- 
tion, in his fifteenth year, at a school two miles off. 

His first teacher, or "master," as he was called in 
those days, was named Moses Taylor. John had 
been under his instruction but a short time, when 
" Master Doane " succeeded to authority in the little 
school-house. He is described as having been a good 
teacher in spelling and arithmetic. In reading, his 
ability consisted in calling the words readily, rather 
than in emphasis or inflection. He was a thorough 
disciplinarian, and having drunk deeply into the 
spirit of Solomon, was an earnest believer in the use 
of the ferule and the rod. John seems, however, to 
have escaped correction, there being in his case no 
need of such gentle persuasion to diligence or good 
behavior. On the contrary, he was a favorite with 
his instructor. 



26 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

Under this teacher John commenced cyphering, 
and found no little difficulty in comprehending the 
science of numbers. Long, irregular columns were 
given him to add up. How to dispose of the tens 
and hundreds was the problem. He was told to 
" carry them forward;" but what " carrying forward" 
meant was just what he did not understand. Master 
Doane scolded, threatened, did nearly everything but 
explain, until John was almost in despair. In his 
own words — "My poor little heart was sorely dis- 
tressed for days, and I well remember my joy when I 
came to understand what ( carrying forward' meant." 
But once understood, the study became delightful; 
and although fond of play, he often spent the hour at 
noon in cyphering instead of joining his school-mates 
in their sport. A consciousness of not being as quick 
in acquiring knowledge as some of his school-mates 
spurred him on; and the same ambition to master 
thoroughly anything he took in hand, which after- 
wards characterized him in business pursuits, kept him 
always abreast with his school-mates. The results 
of his diligence soon began to appear. As his mind 
developed, his power of acquiring increased, and we 
find him fond of school and learning fast. 

When he was about ten years old, "Master Doane" 
gave up the reins of government to Mr. Joseph Par- 
dee. He was a man of more education than his pre- 



LIFE OF JOHN P CROZER. 27 

decessor, but in the opinion of his youthful pupil, 
who had already begun to study men, "he had less 
ability to impart instruction." Under Master Pardee, 
in addition to his other studies, he gained some know- 
ledge of surveying; and soon put his knowledge into 
practice by surveying some of his father's fields, his 
only instruments being an old compass and a two-pole 
chain. 

After reaching the age of thirteen, John attended 
school only in the winter, working the rest of the year 
on the farm. Even in the winter, his studies were 
accompanied with work in taking care of the stock, 
cutting and carrying in the wood, and building the 
morning fires. In comparing the present facilities 
for education with those of his childhood, Mr. Crozer 
said, " My teachers knew nothing of English grammar, 
although they professed to teach something of it ; and 
the little knowledge of grammar I possess was ob- 
tained without a teacher after I was twenty-one. Not 
one of my teachers, except perhaps Mr. Pardee, would 
now pass examination as teacher of common schools 
in Delaware County. It is a matter of satisfaction 
to me that the education of children is now so much 
more regarded." But scanty as his early advantages 
were, they were more than made up by industry and 
perseverance, and it is probable that, with the aid of 
the little library at home, he acquired in his youth 



28 LIFE CF JOHN P. CBOZER. 

as good an education as is usually attained by the 
youth of the present day. 

The community in which Mr. Crozer passed his 
childhood and youth was not favorable to the develop- 
ment of Christian character. The Friends were the 
controlling denomination, not only in Springfield, but 
in the county, and comprised nearly all who made any 
pretension even to the outward observance of religion. 
They had few ministers of their own, and " hireling 
priests" was an epithet which they freely applied 
to the ministers of all other denominations. Their 
meeting were generally silent sittings, and of course 
unattractive to the young. It was the custom of the 
boys to exchange visits in the afternoon of the Lord's 
Day, and often to engage in play. John's relations on 
his father's side were almost all members of a society 
which, in that day, looked with leniency at least upon 
this practice — a society so dominant in their influence 
that it required strong principle and no little courage 
to differ with them in their views or practices. The 
youth in the family naturally felt this influence, and 
John joined his school-mates for a time in the Sunday 
visiting. 

But there was, at the same time, at work in the 
household an influence of another kind. The mother 
had been educated under better instruction, and was 
a woman of decided piety. Like a good Christian 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEB. 29 

mother, she kept a constant watch over the morals of 
her children. There was an Episcopal service once a 
month at Chester, and this the mother attended when 
her health would permit, taking some of her children 
with her. She also taught her children to respect 
the Lord's Day and keep it as holy time. One of 
Mr. Crozer's dearest reminiscences of his mother was 
her custom of requiring him to read the Bible to her 
on Sunday when he was a little child, she accompany- 
ing the reading with words of comment and counsel. 
So far as John was concerned, she was successful in 
instilling into his young mind reverence for the Lord's 
Day; for in mature years he confessed that when he 
failed to do something to mark the day as holy time, 
he felt guilty of sin. 

The natural bent of Mr. Crozer's mind in child- 
hood w T as serious ; and as a pupil in school we find 
him docile, industrious, and obedient. In referring to 
this period of his life, he remarked that his mind was 
exercised on the subject of religion from his earliest 
recollections. His sister, Mrs. Campbell, mentions 
an incident which took place, illustrative of the effects 
of his mother's teaching. She says : " I do believe he 
was in early childhood one of our blessed Lord's 
chosen little ones. I remember once, when he must 
have been a very small boy, a fearful storm threw 
down wit] i great violence several of the large willow 

3* 



30 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZER. 

trees which stood near our house. In the midst of 
the family consternation, the dear child standing 
among us was heard calling on * Our Father which 
art in heaven/ " But it was not until the age of four- 
teen that he was thoroughly awakened to the claims 
of the gospel, and brought to make a full surrender 
of himself to Christ. 

On the farm adjoining his father's lived an estima- 
ble family by the name of Pennock. On the death 
of a daughter in their household — a lovely Christian 
young woman, who was the intimate friend of Eliza- 
beth, the sister of John — Dr. Staughton came from 
Philadelphia to preach the funeral sermon. The 
neighbors and friends assembled at the house of the 
Pennocks, where the service was held. Under the 
influence of this and a few following discourses at the 
same place a number of persons were converted, 
among whom were John and his sister Sarah. 

Little did the excellent Staughton think, as he stood 
that day under the low ceiling of a farm-house room, 
looking around him upon the little company of neigh- 
bors and friends seated upon chairs and benches, that 
there sat among the boys a plain but thoughtful lad, 
not yet fifteen years old, who was to be one of the 
brightest jewels in the crown of his future rejoicing — 
one who would hew out a way to opulence and ex- 
tended usefulness, becoming the benefactor of the 



LIFE OF JOHN P CBOZEE. 31 

poor, the friend of the "feeble-minded," the patron 
of learning, and the steadfast supporter of religion. 
Often in after years the full, round tones of this 
princely preacher rung out upon the ears of the 
multitude which thronged his ministry in the old 
round meeting-house in Sansom street; but never, 
perhaps, were they heard so far as when he spoke in 
the farm-house kitchen. As he arose, the hopes of 
future colleges and schools hung trembling on his 
words; Ethiopia was stretching out her hands to God 
in the prayer of that simple service; and the silver 
bells of Burman pagodas hung hushed and tremulous 
to the songs of praise. 

Brethren in the ministry of Jesus, let us take a 
lesson. Our wayside efforts may prove our best. A 
sermon in a country town, a friendly talk on the 
dusty path of travel, a word of counsel in some deso- 
late household of the poor, may yield the crowning 
blessing of our earthly lives. 

In April, 1807, John and his sister Sarah were 
baptized by Dr. Staughton, in the Schuylkill at the 
end of Spruce street, and united with the First Bap- 
tist Church in Philadelphia. The opportunities for 
public religious instruction at Springfield were poor. 
Preaching at the Pennocks' was infrequent; a travel- 
ing Methodist sometimes occupied the little school- 
house; but at Marcus Hook, eight miles off, there 



32 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEB. 

was stated preaching once a month, which John 
always attended, and once a month or oftener he at- 
tended divine service in Philadelphia; sometimes 
taking one or both of his sisters, and at others going 
alone on horseback. The kind Christian mother was 
always ready to aid her children in getting off to 
these meetings, and the father interposed no objection. 

With this religious change in the character of 
John, there came an increased desire for mental im- 
provement. He now began to read systematically; 
and although employed in hard labor upon the farm 
during the day, he spent his evenings in study. His 
sisters often joined him in these evening exercises, as 

also Miss Mary Collins, afterwards Mrs. K , a 

young lady of more than usual cultivation, who was 
the intimate friend of his sister Elizabeth. 

For the next three years John made much progress 
in improving his mind and storing it with useful 
knowledge. He was probably too assiduous in these 
pursuits ; and a weakness of sight, which troubled 
him in after years, he was accustomed to attribute to 
protracted study by the dim light of a single home- 
made candle. He seems to have devoted every vacant 
hour to reading. "\Ve find him at the plough with a 
copy of Thomson's Seasons in his pocket, and when 
his team was resting in the shade he passed the time 
in the pleasant companionship of his book. 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEE. 33 

It is evident, from the account that remains of this 
period of his life, that he felt the want of male com- 
panions of kindred intelligence and taste. He found, 
however, in the household of his friends, the Pen- 
nocks, opportunity for useful conversation, and was 
almost as intimate with them as with the inmates of 
his own home. To this family, which combined 
much true gentility with religious worth, John was 
deeply indebted; and when, just before he became of 
age, they removed from the neighborhood, he felt the 
loss of their Christian companionship and sympathy ; 
but the influence they had exerted was lasting in its 
effect, and always remembered with gratitude. 

C 






CHAPTER V. 

LIFE AS A FARMER. 
1810 — 1820. 

FOR some years preceding his majority young 
Crozer ha 1 the entire management of his father's 
form. His father, under the sufferings of inflammatory 
rheumatism, had lost all energy and enterprise; and 
the farm by continued neglect had become compara- 
tively profitless. This was a source of great anxiety 
to John, especially as his power to prevent it was 
limited. Only one man was allowed him for the 
work of a farm of one hundred and seventy-three 
acres, except for a few weeks in harvest. He was not 
permitted to carry out his own enterprising notions in 
the purchase of lime and manure, but he worked hard 
at almost all kinds of work; and by clearing up 
hedge-rows and thickets, and putting up new fences, 
soon gave the old farm an appearance of neatness and 
thrift, although the lands were as yet but little im- 
proved. 

The orchard of the farm furnished summer and fall 
as well as winter apples, which he hauled to Philadel- 
phia — thirteen miles by the road of that day — in a 

34 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 35 

one-horse cart, making three, four, and sometimes 
five trips in a week. His whole load would usually 
net but from three to four dollars. In narrating this 
fact in after life, Mr. Crozer naively added, "My 
sons will think this was small business." There was 
a small dairy of eight or nine cow T s, which added but- 
ter to the products of the farm. This he also carried 
to the market in Philadelphia. 

This hard experience of his early life was patiently 
endured. It proved a wise and healthful discipline 
to prepare him for his future struggles. Without it, 
he might never have triumphed over the difficulties 
which surrounded him in the establishment of the busi- 
ness in which he laid the foundations of his wealth. 

In January, 1814, John attained his majority, and 
his mother proposed that from that time he should 
have one-third of all that might be sold from the 
farm. This arrangement continued until the death 
of his father, two years afterwards, when his mother, 
to whom the property was left by will, insisted upon 
increasing John's share of the returns. This excel- 
lent woman was unselfish in character and prudent 
in all her plans ; but with her best economy and the 
untiring industry of her son, it was found difficult to 
meet the wants of the household, and maintain the 
gentility of dress and manners to which they had 
always been accustomed. 



36 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEE. 

His father died in January, 1816. His mother 
survived her husband but a year. They were buried 
in the Quaker burying-ground at Springfield. Their 
son was not permitted to raise the simplest stone to 
mark the spot. Indeed, a short time after the burial 
of his mother the few plain stones that marked the 
last resting-place of his grand-parents were rudely 
torn up and removed, as were also many others in 
that ancient burying-ground. To his loving and 
sensitive nature this act was very revolting. "I am 
sorry, very sorry," he says, "for I have often wished 
to mark and protect the spot where those so dear to 
me slumber." 

The property of the parents descended in common 
to his two brothers, his two sisters, and himself. It 
consisted of the form, with its buildings, and about 
four thousand dollars in money. John received the 
special legacy of his father's library, book-case* and 
silver watch. 

His sister Elizabeth had become the wife of Mr. 
John Lewis, a man whom Mr. Crozer esteemed " as 
among the most excellent of mankind, as well as one 
of the best and kindest of husbands." He found no 
reason to change this opinion in the life-long friend- 
ship which succeeded. His sister Sarah was living 
with the newly-married pair, and his two brothers 
were in business in Philadelphia. 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 37 

Mr. Crozer was thus left alone in the old home- 
stead with one man, a boy, and an old female relation 
as housekeeper. The farm was rented to him at three 
hundred dollars a year and the taxes. He set to 
work in earnest, farming now for the first tkne in his 
own w x ay and on his own account. His love of read- 
ing at this time increased ; being much alone, it fur- 
nished his chief recreation. He was often sad and 
low-spirited at this period of his life, and records a 
certain recklessness and indifference as growing upon 
him. He blamed himself unjustly for this condition 
of mind, which was probably but the result of his too 
solitary life and too monotonous occupation. His 
home was sometimes enlivened by a visit from one 
of his brothers or sisters, but for most of the time 
he was confined to the society of the persons in his 
employ. 

He wished to purchase the farm, not so much from 
any growing love of farming pursuits as to keep it 
from the hands of strangers. His fellow-heirs wished 
him to become the purchaser, and probably for the 
same reason. But, after long and patient considera- 
tion, he concluded that he could not pay for it out of 
its products for many years, and he had little else 
upon which to rely. He says : " I thought of graz- 
ing, dairying, vegetable farming — every plan which 
my reason or fancy could suggest. Sheet after sheet 



38 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEB. 

was figured over, but all in vain. I found that to 
buy would be fatal, for I could never get out of debt. 
The farm must be sold to strangers. Tears trickled 
dozen my cheeks as I reached this sad conclusion" 

The hope of becoming the owner of the homestead 
once abandoned, he decided upon a change; and early 
in the spring of 1820, having found a tenant for the 
farm until arrangements for its sale could be com- 
pleted, he sold out his implements and farm-stock at 
Springfield, and resolved to look about him in the 
world for a home, and perhaps for some other occu- 
pation. 

In the last year of his life upon the farm Mr. 
Crozer had made the acquaintance of a lady to whom 
he became tenderly attached. She was the daughter 
of a neighboring gentleman, reputed for the comfort 
of his home and the style of his living. The daugh- 
ter, to her praise be it said, discovered and appreciated 
the worth of her farmer friend; but her father, under 
the influence of feelings by far too common with gen- 
tlemen of his class, desired other qualifications than 
intelligence and industry for the man who was to be 
the husband of his daughter. Mr. Crozer did not 
press his suit, being influenced, not only by the objec- 
tions of the father, but also by the fear that, with his 
own uncertain prospects, he might do injustice to the 
welfare of the daughter in withdrawing her from 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZER. 39 

comforts and advantages which he had not the ineans 
to supply. 

On retiring for ever, as he thought, from the neigh- 
borhood where he had spent his childhood and his 
youth, he bade her farewell in a letter of such singu- 
lar merit that it cannot in justice to his memory be 
withheld. The reader will not fail to notice, in the 
purity of its style and the dignity of its spirit, what 
progress in manliness he had made at the end of his 
life upon the farm : 

"To Miss — 



" My Dear Fbiend : — Permit me to greet you 
by so affectionate a name as 'dear friend/ for I feel 
for you all the regard belonging to the character of 
friend, added to a character infinitely more tender, 
which I forbear to mention. So much good sense, 
such gentleness, such piety, all added to manners so 
unassuming, cannot fail to be observed and attract 
admirers among the most deserving men; and it is 
my fervent wish, that an overruling Providence may 
guide you in your choice of one who will be alike 
able and willing to make you what you deserve to 'be 
— the happiest of women. 

" And now permit me to say a word of myself, on 
whom fortune has never smiled. I have been obliged 
to make great exertions to overrule my will, which 



40 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZEB. 

led nie to regard you with more tenderness than you 
are aware of, unless indeed you have observed my 
actions. 

"In consideration of my humble situation in life, 
judgment has prevailed, and I am about to separate 
myself from your delightful company, in all proba- 
bility for ever. I could not, however, take a final 
adieu before yielding so far to my feelings as to make 
known the influence you have had over me. But in 
so doing I have no interested motives. I wish not to 
engage your affections; this, on my part, would be 
cruel, because I am resolved never to marry a woman 
whom I cannot support with as much dignity and 
attention as she had received in her single state, which 
in relation to you could not be done by me. 

" I must therefore look amid the forests of Ohio for 
one similarly situated with myself; this is my doom; 
and what makes it the more painful is, that I cannot 
cherish the remembrance of you ; but, on the contrary, 
in duty to myself, must endeavor to forget you. My 
soul swells ; I can add no more. The last words that 
you may ever hear from me are these : Could I serve 
you by laying down my life, I should do it without 
hesitation. Respectfully yours, 

"JohxP. Crozer." 



CHAPTER VI. 

JOUENEY TO THE WEST. 
1820— April to December. 

ME. CROZER had now entered upon the twenty- 
eighth year of his age. He may be described as 
a man of about the average height, squarely and 
strongly made, of robust health, and a most vigorous 
constitution. He was well endowed with natural 
courage j and possessing a resolute will, hardship and 
danger, at this period of his life, were attractive 
rather than repulsive in his view. 

Having decided to look about him in the world, he 
began his preparations, and very naturally turned his 
attention to the West. "Western New York and 
Pennsylvania were then called "the West;" Indiana 
and Illinois were out on the confines of civilized life; 
but our traveler had decided on a thorough tour, and 
mapped out a journey which extended west into the 
State of Illinois, and south to Louisville and Lexing- 
ton in Kentucky. 

At that time there were no reliable modes of pub- 
lic conveyance. Turnpike roads had been built to 

4* 41 



42 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE. 

Pittsburgh and the National Road had been opened to 
Wheeling. Stages also ran daily to Cincinnati and 
Lexington. But in Ohio, Indiana, and farther west, 
the traveler must journey in the saddle or on foot. 
To Mr. Crozer, who was already a practiced horse- 
man, traveling in the saddle was no hardship. In 
the month of April we find him mounted on a 
"square-built black mare" and equipped for his long 
journey — a journey which proved to be about twenty- 
seven hundred miles in length, and which he accom- 
plished at the average rate of forty miles a day. He 
shaped his course for the Miami Valley, crossing the 
Ohio at Wheeling in a flat-bottomed boat, having 
visited on his way his old friends of the Pennock 
family, who had now become residents of Fayette 
County, Pennsylvania. 

At that time the arks and keel-boats, in which the 
produce of the country was floated down to New 
Orleans, were giving place to steamboats. Merchan- 
dise that would not be injured by exposure to water 
and the weather was still sent to market on these 
arks, which were little else than rafts of lumber or 
timber, fastened together temporarily, to be taken 
apart and sold on arrival at New Orleans. On the 
Little Miami our traveler visited a Shaker settlement, 
and admired their well-cultivated and fertile fields.* 
Some of the peculiarities of the Shakers might have 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 43 

excited ridicule; but they did not with him. Thus 
early he had learned to treat opinions and practices, 
however different from his own, with respect and 
charity. He says : " I made some acquaintances 
among this singular people, and informed myself as 
to their origin, doctrines, and habits. I felt no dis- 
position to ridicule them. It has been my aim to 
treat opinions differing from my own with respect and 
kindness." 

From the Miami Valley, Mr. Crozer journeyed to 
Cincinnati, then a city of less than ten thousand in- 
habitants, although by far the largest town lying 
north of the Ohio. At this time Cincinnati, in com- 
mon with the whole West, was in a troubled financial 
condition. The scarcity — indeed the absence — of 
specie as a circulating medium had led to a wild sys- 
tem of banking, and a paper currency of changeful 
and uncertain value was destroying the best interests 
of trade. Our traveler had ample occasion to notice 
this condition of affairs, for in his day's journey of 
only forty miles his dollar would sometimes gain 
or lose fully twenty per cent. 

From Cincinnati, Mr. Crozer traveled by Vevay 
and Indianapolis across the whole State of Indiana to 
Vincennes, in the valley of the Wabash, Indianapolis 
was then a town of less than twenty log houses. The 
old French settlement at Vincennes had then a compar- 



44 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZER. 

ative importance, which now it does not possess. After 
a brief stay in this vicinity, he rode up the valley of 
the "Wabash to Terre Haute, and was pleased with 
the appearance of the country. He thought it equal 
to any he had seen except the Miami Valley. Push- 
ing his journey into Illinois, he visited a settlement . 
of English farmers which was attracting much atten- 
tion at the time, and returning thence to Indiana, 
came down the Wabash to Xew Harmony. 

Xew Harmony was then in the hands of its original 
settlers — a company of Germans — under the leader- 
ship, almost the sovereignty, of Frederick Rapp. This 
company had emigrated from Germany in 1804, and 
established themselves in Butler County, Pennsyl- 
vania, at a place to which they gave the name of 
"Harmony;" but desiring a milder climate, they had 
removed, in 1814, to their present situation, to which 
they gave the name of " Xew Harmony," in honor of 
their old location. They held their property in com- 
mon, although all titles to real estate were vested in 
Mr. Rapp, who was guide, governor, and minister of 
the gospel. His authority was almost absolute, alike 
in temporal and in spiritual things. Their religious 
views were much like those of the Moravians, and a 
simple piety was the saving element in their otherwise 
mistaken philosophy. 

As a place of thrift, Mr. Crozer says, "I have 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 45 

never seen its equal. They had a beautifully laid out 
village, at first of log houses, which were now giving 
way to neat brick dwellings of moderate dimensions, 
each house being in the middle of a lot and richly 
surrounded by shrubbery and flowers. All the men 
seemed to be engaged in building, and the women were 
conducting the work of the farms. In one field I 
saw a dozen women ploughing, each driving a span 
of fat horses. The soil was rich and wonderfully 
productive, and the settlement was very flourishing." 
It continued to flourish in most respects, except in the 
ill-health of the company, who, five years after the 
visit of our traveler, sold out their estate, and return- 
ing to Pennsylvania, founded in Beaver County the 
still thriving village of Economy. Their patriarch, 
Rapp, lived with them until his death, in the year 
1847. 

New Harmony, which in their hands had not been 
a failure, now passed to the ownership of the famous 
Eobert Dale Owen. The fine old church was turned 
into a place of amusement, and the schemes of Social- 
ism were fairly inaugurated. Morality was nominally 
insisted upon, but its relations to religion were ne- 
glected. As might have been foreseen, New Harmony 
under Owen was a pitiable failure. Mr. Crozer, 
whose visit there had made him a watchful observer 
of its history, recorded a few years later : " This is an- 



46 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

other instance of the folly of attempting to establish 
communities of men by repudiating or failing to re- 
cognize the Christian religion as the basis of society 
and good government." 

Crossing from Indiana into Kentucky, our traveler 
visited Louisville. This was then a town of great 
activity in business. Most of the town was located 
upon one street of perhaps two miles in length. The 
canal was not then projected, but when the waters of 
the Ohio were high, boats passed over the falls, mak- 
ing it even then an important point for the shipment 
and transhipment of merchandise. Louisville, in 
that day, wore an air of city activity and enterprise 
which Mr. Crozer had never witnessed in Phila- 
delphia. He says: "I never before saw so many 
hacks and carriages for hire in one place." From 
Louisville he journeyed to Lexington through some 
of the finest lands of Kentucky. Of the country 
between these two cities, he says : " I thought I had 
never seen so fine lands, and none so highly cultivated, 
not even in Lancaster County, in my native State/' 
The farms were worked by slaves in small gangs of 
from three to five. 

In 1856, Mr. Crozer traveled again through the 
same country, and was impressed with the great 
change that had come over it. He says : " I found 
the soil greatly impoverished, and its productiveness 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEB. 47 

diminished. This I attribute to the blighting curse 

of slavery, for a finer natural soil or a more beautiful 

country than this portion of Kentucky cannot be 

found. Yet this naturally lovely country is not even 

stationary; it is clearly retrograding; the lands are 

neglected and the houses unimproved, The town of 

Lexington has advanced but little; its hotels are 

fourth rate, and all things are behind the age. If 

this is owing to anything but slavery, I should like to 

know what." 

Mr. Crozer passed out of Kentucky at Coventry, 

which place had then been suddenly arrested in its 

career of prosperity — a career based upon an inflated 

currency that had now collapsed, bringing bankruptcy 

and ruin upon its active business. Ten days more 

were spent in the vicinity of Cincinnati, examining 

the country between the Great and Little Miami 

rivers, which was just then being fairly opened and 

brought into extensive culture. Later in life our 

traveler had an opportunity to contrast the fine towns 

i 

and fertile fields of that valley with the slaveholding 

territory south of the river, and greatly to the dis- 
advantage of the latter. 

From Cincinnati Mr. Crozer made his way east- 
ward to Uniontown. He says: "I did not then 
foresee that Uniontown was to be the future home of 
ny sister Sarah." He again visited his "true and 



48 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

tried friends/' the Pennocks. The happy influence 
which this excellent Christian family exerted over 
him, at the time when his character was forming, he 
always remembered with gratitude. 

From Uniontown, which is in Fayette County; in 
the southern part of Pennsylvania, he shaped his 
course northwardly across the whole breadth of his 
native State towards the Falls of Niagara; but after 
riding ten days in that direction in the extreme heat 
of August, his faithful mare, despite the careful 
attention which she had always received, began to 
gall under the saddle; and somewhat sorrowfully our 
traveler turned towards the right, for Susquehanna 
County, by way of Bellefonte and Williamsport. 
Some eastern Pennsylvanians had just then settled in 
that county and spoke well of its resources. Mr. 
Crozer wished to see for himself. Here, in the north- 
eastern portion of the State, he turned upon his course 
and journeyed southward to his home. During this 
extended journey Mr. Crozer saw places where he 
thought lie might succeed; but such was the deranged 
condition of the currency that he did not think it 
prudent to move into a country where the value of 
everything was so changeful and uncertain. 

It was now late in August, and the farm being 
rented, he found a home with his brother-in-law 
Lewis, at Castle Rock, a few miles distant from the 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZER. 49 

homestead. For some months following he spent his 
time in reading and study. But to a man of his 
active temperament this could not long continue ; the 
feeling that he ought to have some settled employ- 
ment wrought increasingly upon his mind, and in- 
terfered with his progress in intellectual pursuits. 
Late in the autumn the farm was sold, to be delivered 
in the spring, at the expiration of the time for which 
it had been rented. It brought much less than its 
estimated value, The price obtained for it was 
divided equally among the four surviving children, 
and amounted to not quite twenty-four hundred dol- 
lars a-piece. John's share, with about one thousand 
dollars which he had received on the death of his 
parents and some little interest thereon, constituted 
all he was worth. With this scanty capital he com- 
menced his business career. 

5 D 



CHAPTER VII. 

ESTABLISHMENT IN BUSINESS. 
1821 — 1 825. 

IN the spring of 1821, Mr. G. G. Leiper, the 
purchaser of the old homestead, proposed a part- 
nership to Mr. Crozer for the running of a new 
merchant and saw mill. They were each to furnish 
half of the needed capital ; and the rent of the mills 
— which were owned by Mr. Leiper — was to be the 
equivalent for Mr. Crozer's services. The offer was 
accepted and the business was immediately com- 
menced. 

The mill was located upon Ridley Creek, which 
empties into the Delaware about three miles above 
Chester. The logs for the saw-mill were purchased 
in the Delaware, at Richmond, and rafted to the head 
of tide-water in the creek. From here they were 
hauled to the mill, a distance of about a mile. Grain 
for the merchant mill was purchased in the vicinity, 
and manufactured into flour for market. The main 
part of the enterprise, however, was the manufacture 
of lumber. This was carried on largely. Mr. Crozer 

50 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZEB. 51 

worked at the business himself, and ; aided by the 
men he employed, had soon as large a stock of lumber 
on hand as could be safely accumulated. The sale 
proved slow. The dullness of preceding years still 
continued, and the anticipated revival of building 
operations was destined to still longer delay. Mr. 
Crozer foresaw disaster, and proposed to his partner 
to bring their business to a close. To this Mr. Leiper 
assented, and Mr. Crozer retired from the business 
with all the capital he put in, suffering only a loss of 
interest and the loss of his summer's work. The 
partnership was dissolved in harmony and by mutual 
consent. 

Disappointed, but not disheartened, he resolved 
to try again. In his own words : " ' What next V 
thought I. Store-keeping in town and in the coun- 
try, and a variety of other occupations, passed in 
review before me." In this posture of mind his 
attention was directed to cotton-spinning. During 
the war of 1812 many small manufactories, chiefly 
of woolen, had sprung up; but those in Delaware 
County, and almost everywhere in Pennsylvania, had 
been unfortunate. The factories were all closed, and 
most of them had passed from the possession of their 
original owners into the hands of their creditors. 
Only one cotton-factory in Delaware County, that of 
Wagstaff & Englehorn, continued running, and now 



52 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE. 

appeared to be making money. But Wagstaff was a 
practical 3otton-spinner from England, and had a 
consequent advantage. A new tariff on imported 
fabrics was just then awakening the hopes of cotton 
and woolen manufacturers, and mills that had stood 
still for years were speedily put in operation. 

Mr. Crozer felt the impulse of the hour, and 
decided to become a cotton-spinner. His first thought 
in this direction he could never recall. It was a 
business of which he was ignorant, and for which his 
capital was too small, and yet he was impelled by 
some fortunate circumstance to consider the possibility 
of his entrance upon it, and had sufficient intrepidity 
of character to brave the difficulties and dangers 
which from the outset he foresaw. 

At this time a mill of a thousand spindles was 
considered a pretty large establishment; but to com- 
mence the business of manufacturing, even in a 
limited way, required no inconsiderable expenditure. 
Mr. Crozer now had only from thirty-six to thirty- 
seven hundred dollars. It was all in ready money, 
and with this little capital he embarked in the 
enterprise. 

His brother-in-law, Mr. John Lewis, took a silent 
interest with him, adding about two thousand dollars 
to the capita], but subsequently withdrew from all 
partnership in the business, at a time when it seemed 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE. 53 

likely to terminate unprofltably. His sympathy and 
good counsel, however, were always continued, and 
his generous aid was limited only by his ability. 

Having decided upon his course, Mr. Crozer was 
eager to begin. He rented the second and third 
stories and part of the lower story of Mr. G. G. Lei- 
per's mill, on Ridley Creek, for six hundred dollars 
per year, including the use of five small tenements. 
He now cast about him for machinery. He wished 
to start with new, but all the machine-shops — of 
which there were then but few in the country — were 
tasked to their utmost capacity. Impatient of delay, 
he bought about four thousand dollars' worth of old 
machinery out of a little mill near the Brandywine. 
It had run only two years, but was never good, being 
badly planned and poorly made. It was moved into 
the rented premises in November, and was ready to 
operate in February. When in after years Mr. 
Crozer looked back with the eye of an experienced 
manufacturer on all the disadvantages of his position 
at this time, and remembered his meagre acquaintance 
with the business, the smallness of his capital, the 
bad quality of his machinery, and his utter inability 
to secure competent help, he said, "It seems a miracle 
that I was not crushed at the outset." 

But he was destined to still greater discourage- 
ments. His mill was hardly in full operation before 



54 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

yarns became plenty in the market, and were dull of 
sale except for superior qualities. His, owing to the 
badness of the machinery, were poor; and sold — when 
they sold at all — at low and unprofitable prices. He 
then decided to commence weaving, and become his 
own customer for yarns. 

All weaving at that time — in Pennsylvania, at 
least — was by hand. There was not a power-loom 
in the State. A man was employed to conduct this 
new branch of the business, and the weaving and 
dyeing of yarns was carried on largely. The goods 
were sold chiefly at auction. But our manufacturer 
was once more disappointed. Weaving did not pay, 
and he incurred a serious loss by attempting it. He 
was discouraged almost to distraction ; at times lie 
could neither eat nor sleep, so great was his anxiety 
and care. Experience had taught him that, if he 
would save himself from ruin, he must learn to con- 
duct his own business. To do this he left his board- 
ing-house, furnished a room near the factory, and 
hired a woman to cook and bring him his simple 
meals. He spent all his time in the factory, except 
one day in each week, which he was obliged to give 
to business in the city. When in the factory he was 
dressed in coarse pants and a velvet round-jacket, 
and worked as hard at all kinds of work as any of 
his hands. He saw no company except g,s he met 



I 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEB. 55 

some relation or friend in spending Sunday at the 
house of his brother-in-law, Lewis. He practised 
the most rigid economy in all his personal expenses, 
often going without his dinner when in Philadelphia 
upon business, in order to save the half dollar it 
would have cost. He says: "There were no eating- 
houses, in those days, where one could spend a 
shilling and satisfy the cravings of hunger." He 
could not afford the dinner, and preferred hunger to 
dishonesty. 

But, with all his industry and economy, he made 
no progress. Things did not improve, but rather 
grew worse. He was pressed for money continually ; 
all the advances he could get on his yarns were needed 
to pay the wages of the work-people and the notes 
falling due for cotton, Besides, he had running debts, 
amounting to five or six hundred dollars, that must 
be soon provided for. To the pressure of these small 
debts he was in danger of yielding. He had decided, 
at the start, not to put in jeopardy a dollar of any 
capital but his own, and his own was now nearly ex- 
hausted. In his own words, "I became distressingly 
anxious ; my little all was involved, and a good deal 
of my brother-in-law's money. I had early made up 
my mind that he should be protected and every one 
else ; that, when my own capital was sunk, I would 
go no farther. I now felt that ruin was impending. 



56 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEB. 

My yarns would not command the full market price, 
and yet it cost me more to produce them than if my 
machinery had been of better construction. I had 
introduced some new machinery, but if the whole — 
new and old — should be brought to a forced sale, I 
knew it would bring far less than its cost and less 
than its value." 

In much despondency of mind, he advised with his 
brother and sister Lewis. They proposed to be his 
security for an additional loan of six hundred dollars, 
if, in his judgment, it would insure permanent relief. 
Their offer was made in such a spirit of genuine sym- 
pathy and encouragement as multiplied its value. 
Mr. Crozer took time for consideration. At first the 
case seemed hopeless ; but after days of thought and 
calculation, he saw his way clear to an honest accept- 
ance of the loan. The money was borrowed from a 
money-lender in the neighborhood — a miserly old 
bachelor — who agreed to lend it upon John Lewis' 
security. A few days afterwards Mr. Crozer went to 
receive it, and says : " It was chiefly in silver ; some 
of it he took from a clock-case, some from an old boot 
in a closet, and some from two other places of con- 
cealment in his bed-room on the ground floor, from 
which all were excluded except, perhaps, his old 
house-keeper. His whole house, as well as his person, 
indicated the absence of comfort ; and yet the man 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE. 57 

had, besides a large farm, many thousands of dollars 
at interest. I was disgusted." 

The six hundred dollars were used in paying 
promptly all his outstanding bills. His mind was 
relieved ; his spirits were raised ; and, to crown the 
whole, a revival of business succeeded. He applied 
himself with renewed energy, and from that time 
onward was successful. In his own words, "From 
that day to the present I have never been seriously 
straitened for money. The loan of that six hundred 
dollars turned the scale. To my sons, who are accus- 
tomed to deal in thousands and tens of thousands, it 
may seem strange that so small a sum as six hundred 
dollars should have introduced such a change in my 
affairs. They may fancy but can never realize the 
early struggles of their father." 

Mr. Crozer's indebtedness to the relatives w T ho 
aided him at this juncture of his affairs w T as always 
remembered with gratitude. In his estimation, it 
was a debt which he could never cancel, and although 
in after life he conferred substantial benefits upon 
them, he never ceased to feel that he was still their 
debtor. 

Their example, it is believed, exerted a powerful 
influence upon him in leading him to similar efforts 
in the behalf of others. Thirty-five years afterwards, 
a young man who had recently entered upon business 



58 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 

called upon him for a loan of two thousand dollars. 
The loan was asked as a matter of business, and as a 
matter of business was refused. Some indications of 
disappointment and distress at its refusal induced Mr. 
Crozer to question the young man further, when he 
learned that his business was embarrassed and his 
credit in imminent danger. Mr. Crozer's sympathies 
were at once awakened, and on the moment he 
pledged him abundant relief. The young man was 
moved to tears; and in a record of the incident which 
remains Mr. Crozer Bays : " 1 COllld have joined him. 
The relief I was able to give was sweet to my 
own soul. I shall carry out my promise to him 
promptly." 

During the period of intense business anxiety and 
toil from which he was now emerging, Mr. Crozer 
seems, in his own candid judgment, to have made but 
little progress in personal piety. He says: "My 
mind was so thoroughly engrossed that for months 
and years no other subject than my business could 
engage, or at least could hold, my attention. I feel, 
in review, that this was very sinful. Solicitude was 
not improper, but such total absorption was a heinous 
sin. God was not taken into account, as he should 
have been. I ought, in my business embarrassments, 
to have looked to him in submission." But a kind 
heavenly Father followed him in love, and strength- 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 59 

ened him with elements of power which saved him 
from ruin. Tireless industry, indomitable perseve- 
rance, and unimpeachable integrity were the qualities 
which, with God's blessing, achieved his success. 

In after years, when reviewing this portion of his 
life, Mr. Crozer said : "I may now, in the maturity 
of age and in the possession of a large fortune, recall 
what, in the review of a long life, I believe to be 
strictly true, that I have never intentionally or know- 
ingly wronged any one in business. It has been the 
uniform tenor of my life to be upright and honest in 
my dealings. I may perhaps have driven hard bar- 
gains ; I know I have been sometimes close in my 
dealings. But a bargain or promise once made by 
me has always been regarded sacred and inviolable. 
No temptation to dishonesty has ever assailed me or 
ever crossed my mind as a suggestion. I wish I 

could make as clear a record of the thoughts of my 

111 
heart in every other respect ; but, alas ! I cannot. 

My industry and integrity were recognized, I believe, 
by all with whom I had intercourse ; and, being care- 
ful to fulfill every pecuniary obligation or promise, I 
early inspired confidence. I was often much strait- 
ened for money, but with a full knowledge of my 
business resources, I was careful never to make a 
promise to pay without an assurance in my own 
mind that I could comply. The people with whom 



60 LIFE OF JOHX F. CROZER. 

I dealt early learned that I was reliable in my pro- 
mises, and as a consequence running bills were often 
not called for by my creditors for months after they 
were actually due. This was a benefit to me. 

"I may here recommend a similar course to any 
young man commencing business. Be careful never 
to disappoint when you promise to pay ; and if you 
have not the money to pay bills when due and called 
for, say so frankly, and at the same time say when 
you will pay, and never suffer the creditor to call 
beyond the second time. If it be practicable, pay a 
little earlier than you had engaged to do. You will 
find it advantageous. Nothing is of so much impor- 
tance to a young man commencing business as a cha- 
racter for integrity, industry, and promptitude. The 
community around him will early recognize these 
qualities and duly appreciate them ; and they will 
secure a credit and a willingness to do business with 
him, thus making amends for any want of cash capi- 
tal. I speak with confidence on this subject. I 
have witnessed it in my case and in that of others/' 



CHAPTER VIII. 

HOME AT WEST BRANCH. 
1825—1840. 

rpHE time of danger and darkness was now over, 
-L and Mr. Crozer may be regarded as having passed 
the crisis of his business life. Yet his advancement 
for many succeeding years was tedious and slow. He 
made some money, but not much; and was still 
obliged to conduct his affairs with the utmost economy 
and care. 

In the autumn of 1824, a property known as 
Mattson's paper mill, lying on the "West Branch of 
Chester Creek, came to auction by sheriff 's sale. It 
consisted of a little mill-seat, with an old, rickety 
building upon it, and about one hundred and eighty 
acres of land. Mr. Crozer bought it for seven 
thousand three hundred and thirty dollars. Unable 
as yet to spare any part of his business capital, he 
mortgaged it to Mr. Thomas Woodward for four 
thousand dollars, and borrowed the balance on the 
security of his brother-in-law Lewis. He took pos- 

6 61 



62 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZEB. 

session of the property in the spring of 1825, and 
called it " West Branch." 

Being now so fairly established in business as to 
be reasonably certain of success, he thought himself 
in proper circumstances to make an offer of marriage 
to the lady for whom he had so long cherished an 
affectionate regard. Under the influence of highly 
honorable motives he had hitherto controlled an 
affection which for several years had been striving for 
the mastery. He had determined in the spirit of the 
letter written on his departure — as he supposed for 
ever — from his native county, to risk no happiness 
but his own, and never to marry a woman whom he 
could not support in the dignity of her single state. 
The way now seemed open ; and, although a present 
economy was still needful, he had such confidence in 
the future as seemed to justify a proposal. The pro- 
posal was accepted, and on the 12th of March, 1825, 
he was married to Miss Sallie L. Knowles, of his 
native county. 

In the latter part of the same month they com- 
menced housekeeping at West Branch. The style in 
which they set out in life is not merely a matter of 
interest, but one of profitable instruction. Everything 
needful for comfortable housekeeping was provided. 
Mr. Crozer had a few articles of furniture, as a bed, 
bedding, a few chairs, and some silver spoons. Mrs. 






73 
> 

O 
X 




LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 63 

Crozer had her clothing and a few presents from her 
friends. They bought furniture, in addition, to the 
amount of a " little under three hundred dollars." 

The best carpet was a rag carpet ; the best chairs 
were Windsor ; the best bedstead cost eight dollars ; 
the dining-table was a second-hand mahogany ; and 
the breakfast-table, which is still preserved, was an 
article that cost five dollars. This was setting out in 
a plain way — plain even for the times. Mr. Crozer 
says : " It cost a little self-denial, but I have never 
upon reflection disapproved of our humble beginning ; 
for while we aimed to keep none but the best com- 
pany, I was resolved to incur no expense beyond 
what I could afford." And he adds, in explanation 
of this, words which may well be remembered by all 
who hope to make headway in the world : " A differ- 
ent policy might have kept us poor through life ; for 
I accumulated only by saving for many years after our 
marriage" 

Let all who have enjoyed the hospitality of his 
home at Upland, where forty and even fifty sometimes 
shared the bounty of his dinner-table, remember that 
this sumptuous entertainment had its origin in the 
; humble beginning at West Branch, where, in harmony 
and love, this excellent pair, in the practice of a wise 
frugality, were laying the foundations of their future 
affluence. 



64 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

Mrs. Crozer had been brought up in the enjoyment 
of many luxuries. Her home had been one of com- 
fort and elegance ; perhaps no gentleman in Delaware 
County kept so costly and bountiful a table as her 
father; but she was unambitious, prudent, and affec- 
tionate, and entered with zeal into the plans and 
purposes of her husband. They usually kept but one 
household servant, and boarded a number of their 
own laborers and mechanics. They both worked 
hard with their own hands. They had little company, 
visiting at only two or three places, and only at times 
which did not interfere with their stated occupations. 
The improvement in their style of living was only 
gradual, indeed almost imperceptible, for about eight 
years after their marriage ; but it illustrated the say- 
ing of Solomon : " Better is a dinner of herbs where 
love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith." In 
after years they were accustomed to refer without 
embarrassment and with many a good-humored recol- 
lection to the scenes of their plain but happy home at 
"West Branch. One sorrowful remembrance is alone 
recorded : it is that they were not more strongly 
influenced by the motives and feelings of religion. 
Says Mr. Crozer, " I look back upon the fact with 
grief." 

Much expense was needfully incurred in fitting up 
the old paper mill for a cotton factory. It was only 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE. 65 

a shell, and the summer was nearly consumed in 
making the necessary repairs. But early in August 
the machinery from his rented mill had been moved 
in, and operations were commenced. The mill which 
he had rented from Mr. Leiper was now abandoned, 
and all his business was confined to the newly-pur- 
chased property at West Branch. 

In transferring the machinery his operatives were 
subjected to a loss of three months' time. He had 
been obliged to stop work at the Leiper mill in May ; 
but by giving his hands free house-rent, and sending 
all their children to school at his own expense, he had 
succeeded in retaining their services. He managed 
in this interval to dispose of his old stock of yarns, 
and at favorable prices. 

He had now a large farm, though of rough land, 
and upon it a growth of valuable timber. His 
knowledge of practical farming came again into use. 
The profits of the farm, the proceeds from the sale 
of the timber, with the amount received from the 
rent of his tenant-houses, paid the interest on the 
whole sum which the property had cost him, thus 
giving him his mill-rent and house-rent free, instead 
of the cash outlay for these purposes to which he had 
before been subjected. His time was fully occupied 
through the day, and for half of each year through 
the evenings also. He was often engaged until a late 



66 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

hour in making up the wages and accounts ; for at 
this time he was his own book-keeper, and kept not 
even a clerk. 

On the 24th of December, 1825, their household 
was blessed by the birth of a son. The occasion was 
one of joy and thankfulness to the father even then, 
although he little knew how much in future years 
and in declining strength he was to be sustained and 
comforted by the filial offices of the first-born of his 
children. 

About three years after his marriage, when his 
affairs began to assume a more comfortable aspect, and 
the pressure of too laborious occupation was in part 
removed, we find the religious elements of his charac- 
ter quickening into fresher life, and with them, as 
might have been expected, an awakening of his early 
interest in the cause of education. 

In the year 1828, he built his first school-house. 
It was a substantial stone building, about sixty feet in 
length by about forty in breadth. It was situated 
at West Branch, and was designed, not only for the 
children of the people in his employ, but as a place 
of worship on the Lord's Day ; and preaching was 
sustained, as opportunity offered, at his own expense. 
This building was also used for a Sunday-school, of 
which he became the superintendent. It is believed 
that the duties which he then assumed as a Sunday- 






LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEB. 61 

school superintendent were continued to the end of 
his life. 

He now began to make a little headway in his busi- 
ness ; and, besides supporting his increasing family in 
comfort, was able to add a little year by year to 
his capital. This continued to be the state of affairs 
at West Branch, without any incident of a remarkable 
kind, until the year 1835, when Mr. Crozer encoun- 
tered his first serious loss in business. By the death 
and total insolvency of his chief customer for yarns, 
he lost about six thousand five hundred dollars. It 
was nearly one-half of all he was then worth. The 
shock was very severe. The amount at a later period 
of his life would have been regarded as a trifle. In- 
deed, only eight years afterward we shall find him 
meeting a loss of more than five times the amount 
with composure. But now he had just struggled into 
comparative ease and comfort, when, at forty years of 
age, one-half the savings of his whole life of toil and 
trial was swept away in an hour, and himself thrown 
back into anxiety and embarrassment. He says, "My 
wife was ill at the time, and anxiety for her proved 
a blessing in disguise, as it partially withdrew my 
mind from brooding over my ruinous loss. For some 
days I felt so much cast down that I could not attend 
to my business, could not stay in the factory." But 
in a w r eek or ten days his native energy triumphed. 



68 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

He had much to do to meet his engagements and keep 
his head above water, but all went right, and by 
redoubling his diligence he was able to meet the 
emergency. 

Hitherto he had spun yarn only, except in the case 
of his early and unsuccessful experiment. Now he 
decided to weave also. Power-looms had at this time 
become common. He borrowed money to buy twenty 
looms, and commenced to weave actively. It is 
believed that all his subsequent extensions, in both 
weaving and spinning, were out of profits. He was 
very successful in weaving and in all his business 
from that date. 

But while his business prospects were thus con- 
stantly brightening, he was called upon to meet a 
heavy domestic affliction. His little son James was 
taken away on the 25th of October, 1838, after a 
very brief and distressing illness. The blow was 
very sudden and unexpected, as we learn from a letter 
to his sister, in which he informs her of his loss. In 
the commencement of his letter he mentioned his 
sadness on parting with her a short time previous, 
when she was on her way homeward, and says : 

" The cause of my sadness was not merely the part- 
ing with a beloved sister, but chiefly because I feared 
you might soon be bereaved of your only child, and 
was apprehensive of the consequences of such a blow 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 69 

to you. I said to my wife more than once, that I 
thought I would be willing to exchange the health of 
our children, and to give, were it in my power, dear 
James' vigorous constitution to your child. I mention 
this as illustrative of the deceitfulness of human esti- 
mates. I then thought of nothing but length of days 
as the lot of our child ; but a few short weeks have 
laid him low. I can scarcely realize the change— one 
day the dear child running to meet me as I came to 
the house, and two or three days after silent in death." 

After detailing the circumstances connected with 
the death of this loved child — the first with whom he 
and his companion were called to part — he says : " The 
desolation and loneliness of my mind were excessive, 
and at intervals continue so. But my beloved wife 
being always on the spot, the scene of our child's 
sports and of his last agony, with something constantly 
present to recall him to her, she continues to feel 
more poignantly than I do." 

Yet amid all of the loneliness and anguish of this 
first bittar experience of parental bereavement, Chris- 
tian faith was in exercise, and he could say : " It is 
our desire to submit to our bereavement as a visitation 
from the Lord, and to bow in submission to his will. 
I have no fears, no misgivings, respecting the state of 
children dying in their infancy ; and I am desirous 
that our child's death may be a useful and lasting 



70 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZFR. 

lesson to his parents and family of the instability of 
mortal things and the uncertainty of life, and that it 
may influence us to live nearer to the Lord." In the 
progress of the narrative we shall find reasons for 
believing that the desires which he expressed were 
not transient and unavailing. The early removal of 
this darling child, as well as the subsequent removal 
of a daughter more advanced in life, were alike 
wisely designed to work out kind and gracious results 
for these bereaved parents and their family. 

From this period Mr. Crozer's advancement in tem- 
poral things was rapid. Success at last had been 
achieved, and his business became so prosperous that 
he made a purchase of another property ; and, tearing 
away another old paper mill, erected a new factory. 
This property was situated but a little way from West 
Branch, being at the point where the West Branch 
empties into Chester Creek. The dwelling-house 
upon the new estate was better than the house at 
West Branch, and with some regret Mr. Crozer 
decided to remove. He had resided nearly fifteen 
years at West Branch — years of toil, but years of 
happiness. It had been the only home of his married 
life, and the birthplace of his seven children — Samuel, 
Margaret, Elizabeth, Lewis, Sallie, James, and George. 
One of these, James, had been taken away. Another of 
them, Sallie, while yet in the bloom of her youthful 



LIFE OF JOHN F. CROZEB. 71 

life, was soon to follow. Two more, Robert and 
Emma, were afterward given him, who, with the five 
just mentioned, were to be spared to cheer and comfort 
him to the end of his earthly life. 

On removing from West Branch his regret was 
lessened by the fact that he should still be near, and 
that he remained its owner. The change was made 
in November, 1840. With the expectation of a 
permanent residence on his new estate, he called it 
Crozerville. 



CHAPTER IX. 

HOME AT CROZERVILLE. 

November, 1839 — May, 1847. 

IN the month of November, 1839, we find Mr. 
Crozer and his family in possession of their new 
home. His style of living had gradually although 
considerably improved ; but he says, "Habit has so 
much force that it was not easy for us, who had so 
long from necessity practised economy, to enlarge our 
expenditure." The little Sunday-school was brought 
with him from West Branch and established in his 
own house at Crozerville, where it was regularly held 
until the date of his removal from the place. The 
present location of his home was rough but exceed- 
ingly picturesque. Its chief disadvantage arose from 
its retired situation — an inconvenience which he had 
always experienced at West Branch — necessitating a 
long ride, usually on horseback, of about eighteen 
miles to the city. The railroad which now passes 
through the town had not then been conceived. On 
the completion of the railroad from Philadelphia to 
Chester, the length of this ride w T as diminished, as, by 

72 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 73 

taking the cars at Chester, about seven miles from his 
home, he could reach Philadelphia by rail ; but even 
then, on the bad roads of winter, he found himself 
seriously incommoded. This retired situation, how- 
ever, was not without its advantages, and kept both 
him and his household from many annoyances and 
cares. 

It may be questioned, also, if this life of retirement, 
which confined his family so much to their home, 
and made them so dependent upon each other, was not, 
in part at least, the cause of their happy development, 
and especially of that strong family affection which 
visitors in their household have so often remarked. 

The business of Mr. Crozer had now become lucra- 
tive, and we find him gradually excusing himself 
from some departments of work, reserving his strength 
and energy for more valuable employment. He also 
became more deeply interested in the things pertaining 
to the kingdom of Christ, and more anxious in his 
search after opportunities of Christian usefulness. He 
began to regard the service of the Lord as the great 
object of life, and to perform that service with down- 
right earnestness. Our narrative will henceforth 
abound with evidences of increased devotion. 

Lest this change in the narrative should do injus- 
tice to his previous piety, it is proper to remark that 
from this period we have fuller opportunities of ac- 



li LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

quaintance with his religious condition. But that a 
great change took place in him about this time is very 
evident. It was one of those seasons which we so 
frequently see in the history of the children of God — 
a season of spiritual expansion or spiritual elevation — 
from which he went out with new zest and greater 
earnestness to "seek those things which are above." 

On the 8th of January, 1842, on the anniversary 
of his father's death, Mr. Crozer commenced a diary, 
in which he records the passing events of his life and 
the chief characteristics of his spiritual condition. He 
seems to have entered upon this work of recording 
the experiences of his daily life in a truly devout 
spirit. He desired to be impressed more deeply with 
the goodness of his heavenly Father ; to become more 
conversant with his own personal necessities and de- 
pendence ; and by a history of daily actions, reviewing 
honestly the faults as well as the virtues of his course, 
to strive for higher attainments in the divine life. 
As it was written for no eye but his own, it contained 
the secrets of his heart. TTe find him constantly 
striving against the deceitfulness of riches. In that 
undivided, constant application which a man conduct- 
ing a large business must bestow on its affairs, he 
perceived great spiritual danger. He says, "How 
hard it is to live for two worlds I" 

In opening his diary, Mr. Crozer takes a brief 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEB. 75 

review of his life since his marriage, and, speaking of 
his present prosperity, says : " When earthly things 
prosper, they have an absorbing influence, and none 
perhaps but those who are prosperous are aware of 
the dangers attendant upon the increase of riches. I 
fear I am much more wedded to the world than I 
should have been, had I been less successful. God in 
his mercy preserve me from the deceitfulness of riches 
and the love of the world !" 

As the last hours of his forty-ninth year were 
passing, Mr. Crozer decided to set apart his birth- 
days as seasons for self-examination and prayer. His 
first attempt was not so successful as he desired, on 
account of frequent interruptions, yet he was able to 
give some hours to reading John Angell James "On 
Christian Love," and to make this remark in his 
diary: "I have for some time been attempting, in 
strength sought from the Lord, to overcome some of 
the sins of my heart. I am very desirous, ere the 
vigor of manhood shall have passed, to bring into 
subjection every evil disposition of mind, and to come 
entirely under the influence of a consistent Christian 
temper in all things." 

In the early part of February, 1842, there was a 
great excitement in the community in consequence of 
the failure of certain banks and a general derange- 
ment of the currency in the State, the exchange against 



76 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

Philadelphia in favor of Xew York being eight to 
nine per cent. This unhappy state of affairs appeals 
more to the Christian side of Mr. Crozers character 
than to his feelings as a business man ; and while he 
deprecates the effect of the panic on the working 
classes, he says, "The public mind is engrossed and 
led away from a sober, steady moral condition, and is 
unfitted for the reception of divine truth and religious 
influences. To the Christian, it must ever be a source 
of joy to look forward to that state of society here on 
earth when the accumulation of wealth and the 
pursuits of earthly pleasure and aggrandizement shall 
enter less largely into the schemes of men. This state 
may not be reached for a long time, but the whole 
course of prophecy authorizes us to expect that holy 
influences will sooner or later prevail on the earth, to 
the exclusion of the influences of sordid pursuits." 

In March of this year there was a " turn-out" of 
the operatives in the factories, in consequence of a 
proposed reduction of wages, which continued twelve 
weeks, and was attended with many exhibitions of 
unfriendliness toward employers. The demonstration 
was so violent and persistent that it was judged wise 
to vindicate the majesty of law by prosecuting some 
of the leaders: Mr. Crozer was one of several em- 
ployers who took an active part in the prosecution. 
The indictment was framed on a charge of conspiracy 



LIFE OF JOHN F. CROZEB. 77 

"to injure and destroy the business of employers." 
The case was ably conducted, and resulted in the con- 
viction of the parties indicted. 

In his diary, we find Mr. Crozer deploring the 
effect of the "turn-out" on the cause of Christ. He 
says : " The excitement, I fear, will have a bad effect 
on our churches. Myself Mid my dear wife mourn 
because of .our utter loss of influence amongst the 
people. In the present state of feeling towards us 
we cannot exercise any religious influence whatever ; 
and, as we are both desirous to be useful to our fellow- 
creatures, we are afflicted at the position of affairs." 

During this period of excitement, which lasted for 
twelve weeks, we see a development of those qualities 
which characterized Mr. Crozer during his whole life 
— his unbending firmness and his readiness to forgive. 

He made several entries in his diary which suffi- 
ciently indicate his firmness of purpose. He refers to 
former occasions when the workmen had vainly en- 
deavored to coerce him either to give a higher rate of 
wages than he could afford, or to take again into his 
employ persons whom, for what he considered valid 
reasons, he had discharged. He then adds : " In the 
present disagreement there is more of deep determina- 
tion and greater indications of violence than formerly. 
But as the issue is fairly joined, I cannot for a mo- 
ment think of yielding." A few days later he says ; 



78 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZER. 

" I do not know if all the employers will be firm, but 
for myself I have not the most remote idea of yield- 
ing, and shall rather never start than be compelled to 
yield." On the fortieth day of the "turn-out" some 
of the spinners sought an interview with him. He 
says : " I had a good deal of conversation with them, 
perfectly calm on both sides, and we parted in a 
friendly manner. I am inclined to think that the in- 
terview was sought under the hope or expectation 
that I would propose some compromise. I, however, 
thought best, in reply to a question asked me as to 
the probability of the mill starting, to say, positively, 
that the mill would never start except upon my 
terms." 

These passages are characteristic, and show that 
when he had once taken a position which he deemed 
right, he could not be induced to abandon it. 
Notwithstanding all the irritating and insulting 
things which the work-people did and said during 
the " turn-out," there is ample proof that 1 e was not- 
actuated by vindictive feelings. On the same page 
from which the last extract was taken we find the 
following entry, under the same date: "Some of the 
families around us are beginning to need the neces- 
saries of life, which we would, under different circum- 
stances, supply with a liberal hand. We have to do 
something for a few of them, but feel it due to our- 






LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 79 

selves to be sparing, in consequence of the cause of 
their distress." During the progress of the strike he 
made the following record : " In a pecuniary view the 
cessation of work will not, I think, be any injury to 
me or to any of the employers. With all of us, 
goods, if sold now, must be sold at a sacrifice, and 
none of us could continue working without making 
sales. We are therefore prepared for a long suspen- 
sion." Yet as soon as the workmen were ready to 
yield he was willing to resume work again. He says, 
a few weeks later: "My mule-spinners have, after 
twelve weeks' resistance, agreed to go to work on the 
terms offered them when they quit. It has probably 
been no loss to me, but a great loss to them. Trade 
is very dull, and I do not know what to do with 
goods, but I shall do a little, and will put some of 
the spinners to /work." On the following day he was 
overrun, at his different factories, with applications 
for work, only a part of which he could grant. Many 
he was compelled to send elsewhere, with the fear 
that there also their application would necessarily be 
refused. He says: "I have a heart open to the dis- 
tresses of my fellows, and cannot without pain see 
a human being, the most degraded, in distress." A 
few weeks after the strike ended, we find him mak- 
ing the following entry: "The spinning-mill stops 
work at four o'clock on Saturday, and the weave-mill 



80 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

at five. It is pleasant to see the children and work- 
people at liberty after the toils of the week. I should 
like it much if the term of working in the factories 
were shortened. It is quite too long for children. I 
am always pleased with the return of Saturday eve- 
ning ; it brings with it peace and quiet, and usually 
gladness and light-heartedness with the factory-peo- 
ple." And when, before the end of this summer, the 
state of trade made it necessary to reduce the wages 
of the factory-people, we find him, at the same time, 
reducing the rent of their houses. 

Mr. Crozer knew well that the employers were the 
only proper judges of the rate of wages which they 
could afford to pay. He saw that to allow the work- 
people — who knew nothing of the financial difficulties 
of the time, and of the stagnation of business which 
attended it — to dictate terms, would be ruinous 
to the best interests of both the employer and the 
employed. Hence, during the strike, he stood firm 
as a rock. Yet, when the strike was ended, he was 
kind, conciliatory, careful for the welfare of his work- 
men. His feelings are well expressed in a few 
lines, which were penned at this time: "It would be 
gratifying to me to see the laboring classes have 
plenty of work at a fair compensation, but this can 
never be unless employers are prosperous. This is so 
plain that it is to me a subject of surprise that work- 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZE B. 81 

people so generally rejoice in the embarrassments and 
downfall of their employers/'" 

Ever alive to the danger attending the acquisition 
and accumulation of wealth, Mr. Crozer strove to 
cultivate piety in his own heart by frequent self- 
examination, the study of the sacred Scriptures, the 
reading of religious books, by secret prayer, and the 
diligent use of the ordinary means of grace. On 
August 13th, 1842, he makes this record: "I am try- 
ing to read Hodge^s 'Way of Life/ but am much 
annoyed with drowsiness. I have also to lament the 
deadness and coldness of spirit which holds control 
over me in family devotion, and indifference to secret 
prayer. These are evidently the signs and effects of 
religious declension, a state of mind to be dreaded. 
O God ! keep me from coldness of heart, from luke- 
warmness, and if I ever have loved thee, revive, I 
pray, thy love in my heart; enable me to awake to 
newness of life, to put on the whole armor, and enlist 
anew under the Captain of my soul's salvation, even 
the Saviour, Jesus." 

At the annual meeting of the Delaware County 
Temperance Society, on the 2d of September, matters 
came up for discussion on which he would have 
spoken, but was restrained by a nervous timidity, 
which he greatly deplored. On this subject he made 
the following entry: "I feel mortified that I am so 



82 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZFB. 

unfitted for discussion as not to be able to take a part; 
but as it is now clear that I can never be a public 
speaker, I must acquiesce. My talent lies in other 
things, and the inability to express myself in debate 
or in public speaking ought to make me aim to be 
more useful in such matters as lie within my sphere. 
Oh that I could be more useful ere my life is closed ! 
Age is now stealing upon me, and the period of ac- 
tivity will soon have gone by." 

It may be proper here to remark, that he was 
during all his life an earnest friend and supporter of 
the temperance cause. In speaking of the meetings 
to which reference is made above, he says: "The cause 
of temperance may fitly be called a ' righteous cause/ 
It unites on one common platform the best people 
of the nation. Whatever diversity of sentiment there 
may be on other subjects, on this — of temperance — 
every good man, every man who is not himself fond 
of the cup and a worshiper of 'King Alcohol/ must 
admit that the cause is a righteous one, and bid it 
God speed !" 

It is interesting to note that the love of reading, 
which characterized Mr. Crozer in his youth, was not 
destroyed by the cares of business ; but as the long 
evenings of autumn and winter approached, he made 
arrangements for a course of reading. He says, Octo- 
ber 1st : " My son Samuel, my daughter Margaret 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 83 

and myself, have this week commenced reading the 
Bridge water Treatises. We design reading together 
for from one to two hours each evening, when we are 
all at home. The remarks made and the inquiries 
elicited will impress the facts and arguments upon our 
minds ; and books which give enlarged views of the 
great Creator will not fail to enlarge the capacity of 
their minds. I hope also that the course of reading 
will restore a fondness for study in my own mind. 
The bewitching cares of life have nearly destroyed 
my relish for thought and inquiry." 

Mr. Crozer w r as a gentleman of truly catholic 
spirit, and took an interest in all evangelical move- 
ments, assisting with his influence and his money 
the churches of other denominations, as w^ell as 
his own, if thereby the cause of Christ could 
be advanced. On Monday, October 4th, he made 
this entry : " I was yesterday at the ' Blue' meet- 
ing-house; a stranger was there, sent by the Pres- 
bytery of Philadelphia to this and the Middletown 
meeting-house, to make some attempt to infuse life 
into these decaying churches. I came away with 
sadness of mind. The reflection that churches and 
houses devoted to the worship of God should show 
the devastations of time is a source of pain to the 
Christian. This ancient edifice, truly venerable in 
appearance, was erected by godly men, who have for 



84 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE. 

three-quarters of a century slept in death. This is 
one of the oldest places of worship in the whole 
country, and its substantial and venerable walls testify, 
that the yeomanry by whom they were erected were 
willing to honor God with their substance, and in 
that day, when farm-houses were of the plainest and 
simplest kind, they were willing to pay for a large and 
commodious edifice and dedicate it to the worship of 
Almighty God. In this ancient house of God is a 
relic justly valued, not because of any inherent virtue 
it possesses, but from its being a present from the 
sainted Dr. Isaac Watts. This good man, hearing 
of a church and congregation in a very thinly 
inhabited region of America, sent over a copy 
of 'Baxter's Saints' Rest,' and in his own hand- 
writing requested that it should be placed in the 
house or session-room, to be read between morning 
and afternoon services. Dr. Watts had learned, no 
doubt, the fact that the people were in the habit of 
staying during the intermission, as many of the con- 
gregation came a long distance to worship." 

Ever interested in the spiritual welfare of his 
work-people and neighbors, Mr. Crozer arranged for 
a protracted meeting in his chapel. It commenced 
November 24th, and was conducted by Rev. J. P. 
Hall, assisted by several ministers of different denomi- 
nations, and attended by persons of various creeds, 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 85 

thus making it a " union meeting." Sinners were soon 
awakened, and the diary says : " I humbly trust the 
work is of God. I have, indeed, no cause to doubt its 
being so ; but, alas ! when I review past scenes, and 
reflect, too, upon the state of my own mind at different 
times, having found deep conviction passing away 
as the early dew, a coldness spreads over me lest the 
work should prove of man, more than of God. If it 
be of God, it will prosper. Oh that I had stronger 
faith and more active devotion ! Even now, while 
my pen records these facts, I do not feel. My heart 
is comparatively lifeless and cold. "What shall I do ? 
What can I do to gain spiritual-mindedness and a 
more uniform devotion ? Gracious God ! direct me." 
The result of this protracted effort was the awakening 
of twenty or more persons, some of whom found 
peace in believing in the Saviour. Of the effects of 
the meeting on himself, Mr. Crozer says : " I have had 
some refreshing seasons; last night particularly, I 
felt freedom in social prayer before the congregation, 
and experienced a sweet peace of mind." 

While Mr. Crozer strove to cultivate personal 
piety, and had a strong desire for spiritual enjoyment, 
he did not forget the responsibility of his position. 
In recounting his many blessings — the blessings of 
health, of a happy home, of kind and excellent 
friends and relations, of large and increasing wealth — 



86 LIFE OF JOHX P. CEOZEB. 

he says : " I think I am not so vain as to believe that 
my merit entitles me to such blessings ; and when I 
think of the responsibility, the requirements, the 
stewardship^ it is then I feel, and desire to feel, that 
special blessings are not given for naught. O God ! 
enable me to act as one who expects to give an account 
of his stewardship." 

Near the close of the year he purchased at sheriff's 
sale a small farm adjoining his estate, and in making 
a note of the fact, he adds this comment: "In the 
increase of my earthly possessions, the adding of house 
to house, and field to field, oh how 7 praiseworthy it 
would be if I could have a more than corresponding 
increase in my spiritual interest! My own experience 
goes to sustain the declaration of Holy Writ, that it 
is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of 
heaven. The accumulation of wealth engenders sordid 
influences, and has a direct and almost invariable 
tendency to stifle religious feelings. If it has in any 
degree — as I trust it has — been my lot to be kept 
from the all-absorbing influence of riches, I desire to 
be humble and to thank God for his protecting care. 
But, alas ! I have much reason to mourn over the 
state of my own mind, on account of the hold the 
cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches take 
of me. A constant warfare is requisite to keep from 
declension. O God ! keep me, and I shall be kept. v 






LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 87 

On New Year's Eve, in reflecting upon the year 
then closing/ he says : "Upon a review of the past, I 
would willingly believe that some little progress has 
been made in heavenly wisdom, and that my mind is 
less tied down to earth than it was twelve months 
ago; but I am yet far too worldly. I will strive 
from this time forth, through the coming year, to 
devote more time to meditation, prayer, and reading 
God's word and evangelical books. My time is in 
God's hands. I have been spared many days, and 
may be near my end. It becomes me to draw off 
from earth, and cultivate a devotional frame of mind 
and a preparedness for death and the eternal world." 

During the year 1842 there had been much distress 
in cities and manufacturing communities, among the 
poor, for lack of work. And it drew to its close 
without any special improvement in business pros- 
pects or in the condition of the workmen. He had 
opportunity, therefore, to act as a steward of the 
bounties of God. He says, as the last days of the 
year were waning : " There is much distress and want 
in our neighborhood, and much more in Philadelphia . 
We are doing a little, and are ready to help all cases 
of need. Oh, how thankful should we be that our 
industry has been so blessed as to provide us with the 
means of helping others ! And I do feel thankful, 
too, that God has given to me and my w T ife the dispo- 



88 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZEE. 

sition as well as the means. " Beside direct giving, 
he also adopted a more effective mode of relief. He 
goes on to say : " I am about to start the remainder 
of my loonas, and shall divide the work among such 
families, not hitherto in my employ, as seem most 
needy. All regularly in my employ have full work. 
I only regret that I have not a way to increase the 
amount of employment, so as to give full work for 
the whole neighborhood." Such were the acts and 
such the feelings with which he closed a year that 
had been marked by the most bitter outburst of feel- 
ing toward himself which he had ever experienced. 

Early in 1843 he carried out his purpose and 
started all his looms, to the great relief of many 
suffering families. He says, January 5th : "It grati- 
fies me to be in a condition to give so much employ- 
ment. I hope — nay, believe — that I am, in part 
at least, actuated by benevolent motives; yet I pre- 
sume the work-people do not believe it, and sup- 
pose that I have no feeling for them. I do not 
expect much gratitude; and therefore hope that 
ingratitude may not have any weight with me. 
I will try to account to God and do justly to 
my fellows." 

At the return of his birthday, this year, we find 
Mr. Crozer free from business, passing the time in 
self-examination and in reading "Baxter's Dying 






LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZEB. 89 

Thoughts." In looking back on what the year had 
given him, he says: "But, ah ! how unmindful am I 
that these things, these gifts of a benign Providence, 
are but entrusted to my stewardship, and that I must 
hereafter account for them all ! I can from my own 
condition realize that a high worldly prosperity is not 
favorable to the divine life. Domestic happiness is 
certainly not adverse to piety, but is a contributor to, 
and strengthener of, religion in the soul ; and I have 
often felt its happy influence. But the cares of the 
world and the deceitfulness of riches are in deadly 
hostility to religion. I am deep in worldly cares, 
and have much of this world's goods ; and I have to 
war with these ; I find the necessity of watchfulness ; 
and am, indeed, too often carried away by their influ- 
ence. I often feel alarmed, on reflecting how little 
good I am doing with my wealth ; and feel the un- 
satisfying nature of riches. The prosperous man still 
pursues, and still acquires, if he can, until his heirs 
succeed him, to whom his gains are often a curse." 

After spending all the morning in writing letters 
of instruction to his agents, he makes this entry in 
his diary : " How engrossing this world and its cares 
are ! How solicitous we are about this brief exist- 
ence! A few years hence, and it will be of little 
consequence to the present family of man whether 
they lived in splendor or pined in want. To be 



90 LIFE OF JOBS P. CEOZER. 

contented with a little is the grand secret of human 
happiness. How earnestly ought we to strive and 
pray against inordinate love of the world, and 'hast- 
ing to be rich ! 7 " 

On February 16th of this year (1843) Mr. Crozer 
met with a very serious accident. He was riding in 
a sleigh, driving a horse he had used for nine years. 
The animal took a sudden fright, and Mr. Crozer, 
with all his efforts, found it impossible to hold or 
check him. On going down a steep hill the sleigh 
was upset and Mr. Crozer thrown out. With return- 
ing consciousness he found himself disabled with a 
broken thigh, out of sight and hearing of assistance, 
and on a road but little traveled. As lie saw the 
horse running up the opposite hill, he believed some 
one would meet him as he ran, and return to ascertain 
the result of the accident, lie drew one of the 
buffalo-skins, which had been thrown from the sleigh, 
to where he could roll partly upon it, and drew the 
other one over him; and, with thanksgiving to Al- 
mighty God that the injury was no greater, he waited 
for relief. In a short time the blacksmith at the 
" Stars" came hurrying down the road, mounted on 
the runaway horse. 

Mr. Crozer says: "The horse had run into his 
yard ; and, with that promptness which true fellow- 
feeling and kindness suggested, he dropped his ham- 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZEB. 91 

mer and red-hot iron on the anvil, ran into the yard, 
threw the harness from the horse, mounted and sped 
to ascertain if anybody was hurt. I shall never 
forget the thrill of joy which crossed my heart when 
I first saw him turn round the corner of the road 
and come toward me. I knew that, from the ex- 
treme cold of the day, early relief was indispensable 
to my life. Though it was in the day-time, and 
there was cause to expect that I would not be left 
to perish, yet the road where I lay was but little 
traveled, and I could not help feeling deep anxiety 
until aid and assistance was certain." 

The alarm was given; a messenger was despatched 
for the surgeon, neighbors collected, and Mr. Crozer 
was laid on a bed on a settee, and thus borne by some 
of his workmen to his home. Passing West Branch 
mill, all was commotion, and on the way the sad pro- 
cession was met by Mrs. Crozer and her eldest son. 
This accident confined Mr. Crozer to his bed sixty- 
eight days. Of these days, long and weary to a 
person of his activity, he says: "For the first few 
weeks I was too uneasy to attend to reading; but 
when sufficiently at ease my beloved wife, always 
assiduously attentive, read to me. We thus got 
through with D'Aubigne's History of the Reforma- 
tion together." In reference to this accident, he says, 
while yet confined to his chamber : " O Thou, who 



92 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

didst preserve my life in great danger, cause me to 
feel that I am the creature of thy power and make 
me the ready instrument of thy righteous will/' 

On the 15th of May he went out of doors for the 
first time, on crutches. After returning to the house, 
he sketches in his diary the following pleasing picture 
of the scene before him : " I now write, seated at my 
parlor-window, overlooking the factory and yard. 
Everything looks fresh and pleasant — the air pure; 
the birds tuning their varied notes; the flowers around 
me, under the culture of my daughters; the forest, 
half in bloom, the foliage daily increasing in size and 
fullness, and already leaved out so as to hide the view 
beyond. The hum of business is all around me — 
mechanics, laborers, wagons, and factories — a busy 
scene — and all under my guidance and control. I 
have seldom, if ever, enjoyed the sweets of pure air 
and country prospect more than at this moment, after 
a long confinement. All seems calm, peaceful, and 
charming. Oh, may the same peaceful calm prevail 
in my bosom and rule my soul, even the peace of 
God, which passeth all understanding !" 

On the same day he enumerates the various bless- 
ings which he had been permitted to enjoy during this 
season of suffering, and says : " I have felt so much 
the influence of kindness and attention that it is my 
design, while I remain on earth, to bestow increased 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 93 

attention upon the sick and afflicted." The resolu- 
tion, thus formed, was faithfully carried out, and 
many a sick and suffering one was cheered during 
days of affliction by his kind and sympathizing min- 
istries. 

Some months later we find Mr. Crozer reviewing 
the past, and thus expressing himself: " My late dis- 
aster, I think, has not been without effect upon my 
character, and has added considerably to that sober- 
ness and gravity which attend increasing age. I have 
long been an active man, and had manifested in the 
ardor of my pursuits no diminution of the vigor of 
ear]y manhood. But, being suddenly 'brought up' 
in my career by my late casualty, I do not feel quite 
the same desire for active life; indeed, I all at once 
seem carried into age, declining age, and feel as though 
I had less to do with the world and its pursuits. 

" The fact of my yet being extensively in business 
may perhaps, after a time, recall me to my former 
feelings and movements. Yet I scarcely think this 
will be the case. I do not wish it to be, and shall 
resist such feelings. I am desirous — in my reflecting 
hours at least — to view my affliction as a dispensation 
for my ultimate good. I cannot be here always ; in- 
deed, I cannot be here long. My crippled and con- 
fined state has necessarily changed my habits for a 
season ; and, as at my time of life quiet and repose is 



94 LIFE OF JOHN P. GEO ZEE. 

more necessary, my affliction may have been designed 
to aid me in overcoming a fixed and almost inveterate 
habit of incessant devotion to business. 

"I do not wish to retire from active life. I do not 
think I should then be as useful as I now am. But 
I wish to contract, to withdraw partially, both mind 
and body. I wish, in doing this, to guard against 
idleness and inactivity. I have known instances of 
too sudden withdrawal. It is my wish to withdraw 
gradually — the work of years, if years are allowed 
me — and to guard carefully against any contraction 
of my mental energies. Tt will be right and proper 
to use, as far as age will allow, both my physical 
and mental energies, but to give them another direc- 
tion more suited to my age and experience, and better 
calculated for the good of my fellow-creatures and the 
glory of God. O my Creator ! imbue me with wis- 
dom to discern and resolution to pursue the path best 
fitted to promote thy glory, the good of men, and my 
own immortal happiness !" 

People living in the city, and having friends resid- 
ing in the country not far off, make it convenient 
sometimes to go out on Saturday afternoon and stay 
over Sunday. Mr. Crozer had some of that kind of 
friends, and we find on Monday, May 22d, this entry: 
" I love my friends, and love to entertain them, but 
would much prefer entertaining no company on the 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 95 

Lord's Day. I do not, it is true, suffer company of 
any kind to break in upon our family regulations ; 
but worldly conversation is too apt to lead off the 
mind and keep from devotional exercises. How sad 
it is that the Sunday, in the country especially, should 
be so desecrated, so much given to recreation and 
amusement by the better part of mankind ! Such 
enjoyments as would be allowable on other days be- 
come sinful on this holy day. God preserve me and 
mine from desecrating this day of his appointment !" 
While moving about on crutches, leaning on his son, 
he says : " It is pleasant to have a child to lean upon 
in bodily afflictions ; but oh, how pleasant to have a 
Saviour to lean upon in spiritual concerns ! My 
Saviour ! enable me to lean upon thee ; grant me thy 
presence day by day ; keep me from inordinate love 
of the world. I have much to bind me here; but oh, 
enable me to keep my hopes fixed with unwavering 
confidence on thee; and give me that elevation of 
hope which will enable me to live above the world !" 
A few days subsequently he was glancing at the 
state of the country, so much more encouraging than 
during the most of the- preceding year. And in the 
extract which follows, it will be seen how constantly 
and honestly he was concerned for the welfare of the 
laboring classes, and how fully he was prepared to 
rejoice in it: " Trade seems to be reviving in almost 



96 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZER. 

every branch. Money is more plenty, and cheaper 
than I have ever known it — three and a half to four 
per cent, in New York, and not much higher in Phila- 
delphia. The country at large is evidently recovering 
from its low prostration, and healthful activity is 
again manifest. These things I cannot, as a citizen 
and philanthropist, do other than rejoice in. The 
laboring classes will first feel the benefit ; and they, 
in every community, constitute the greater number. 
For myself and family, we ought to be content with 
what we have/' 

In June of this year, he commenced an addition to 
his dwelling-house, partly to enable himself to ex- 
tend to an increasing circle of friends that generous 
hospitality in which he took so much pleasure, par- 
ticularly when his guests were the followers of Christ. 
In referring to this proposed enlargement, he says : 
"God grant that we may continue long in that domes- 
tic enjoyment which has hitherto been our lot; and, 
while we are enlarging the bounds of our earthly 
habitation, may we have increased solicitude to secure 
a mansion in the kingdom of heaven; and in the 
possession of wealth and comfort here, may we not 
rest satisfied, or forget that we cannot long enjoy a 
home of our own building !" 

Of his great capacity for carrying on business we 
may £et an idea from an entry made, June 17th : " I 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 97 

have been much occupied in mind this week with 
business : am fond of building and of making im- 
provements, and so I now have two sets of masons 
and carpenters; and limestone, sand, lumber, &c, 
to provide to keep them employed ; two rafts to get 
out, haul to the lot, and pile at Marcus Hook ; besides 
the concerns of my three factories and my agents. All 
these supply ample material for the mind and body 
of a cripple, such as I am at present, yet I cannot 
say that they oppress me." It may surprise the 
reader to know that, with all this multitude of cares, 
Mr. Crozer kept some book in hand to read. When 
he went to Marcus Hook to look after the rafts of 
which he spoke, he took with him the Life of Wilber- 
force, whom he calls "an admirable pattern for every 
Christianly man," and read the book as he rode, 
having with him his daughter Margaret. 

June 20th, he says, he has been reading Buckland's 
Bridgewater Treatise, and before the month is out he 
adds Rasselas to the list. At the risk of seeming 
prolix, we add some of the comments which he made 
upon geology, as the science then stood ; and we do it 
to show that, though Mr. Crozer's mind was loaded 
with the cares of a large and increasing business, he 
was watchful of the progress of science, and that his 
strong faith in Christ and his word lifted him above 
all unbelief: " The yet not fully understood science of 



98 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

geology may interfere with the literal sense of the 
first chapter of Genesis, but can never overthrow the 
Christian theory ; and it is satisfactory to find emi- 
nent geologists — those who have adopted the opinion 
that the world has existed many thousand ages — fully 
and unequivocally believing in the truths of reve- 
lation. 

" When I was a child, and first learned the philoso- 
phy of the rainbow in the heavens, I was disappointed, 
grieved, and wished I might be misinformed. I had 
always been struck with the beautiful sublimity of 
the Scripture account of the rainbow, and had re- 
ceived the impression that it was sent as a special 
messenger from God on each occasion of its appear- 
ance ; and when I saw it accounted for as an ordinary 
arrangement of nature, it seemed to detract from the 
high dictation, ( I do set my bow in the clouds/ Thus 
it was with me when geologists assumed the position 
that the world, instead of being the Almighty's work 
in six of our days, was clearly many thousands or 
millions of years in becoming what it now is. I felt 
confounded, but further reflection makes me think 
differently ; and if geologists establish their position, 
and agree among themselves — which as yet they are 
far from doing — I shall find no difficulty in adopting 
the theory, without its interfering in the least with 
my religious sentiments. God is yet the Creator of 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER 99 

all and Moses was his prophet; man is a fallen 
creiture, and Jesus Christ came into the world to save 
sinners. These truths remain unaffected by geological 
discoveries, and will ever remain amid the wreck of 
matter and the crash of worlds." 

It was past midsummer before Mr, Crozer had so 
far recovered from his accident as to be able to return 
to the usual routine of his business. On the 24th of 
July he made his first appearance among his friends 
at the bank at Chester, of which he was a director. 
On the day previous he was at the Episcopal church, 
when the prayer of thanksgiving for deliverance from 
danger was offered in his behalf. 

He was hardly restored to his accustomed strength 
before a great calamity came upon him, and in a single 
night swept away nearly fifty thousand dollars' worth 
of his property. In the afternoon of August the 5th, 
1843, about three o'clock, a heavy rain set in; the 
mill streams were rapidly swollen to an extent greater 
than had ever before been known. In the county of 
Dela Tare, twenty persons were drowned; more than 
fifty public bridges were carried away ; thirty houses 
and almost all of the mill-dams were destroyed ; 
many factories were wrecked, and some were ruined. 
Mr. Crozer's Knowlton factory, a handsome building 
of stone, which he had recently erected, was swept 
away, with all its machinery, yarns, and goods. The 



100 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE. 

east end of the West Branch factory was carried 
away, with the size-house, water-wheel, many looms, 
and the dry-house, containing several thousand dol- 
lars' worth of yarns and goods. At Crozerville, the 
cotton-house, with thirty bales of cotton, was swept 
away by the flood, and some of the machinery was 
much injured by submersion. 

With his accustomed energy, Mr. Crozer entered on 
the work of repairing damages; and while he is dis- 
posed to accept this dispensation of Providence as a 
chastisement for hardness of heart and too much love 
of the world, he fears that his spiritual interests will 
suffer on account of the multiplicity of cares which 
now press upon him. 

In a letter to his sister, Mrs. Campbell, written the 
following day, he say- : 

u We had yesterday afternoon a dreadful freshet, in 
which our loss is a large fortune. But before I go 
one word further, I will say that Ave are yet far from 
being poor; and we desire, rather to be thankful to 
God for what is left, than to murmur at the dispensa- 
tion which has taken away forty thousand dollars, or 
perhaps considerably more than this sum ; for I have 
as yet made no estimate, nor can I at present. 

"The rain commenced heavily yesterday after din- 
ner, and by live o'clock the whole flat around us was 
one entire torrent, sweeping all the bridges and dams. 






LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEB. 101 

It carried away both my mills at Knowlton, with all 
the valuable machinery in the beautiful stone mill. 
The mill at West Branch was partly carried away, 
with the water-wheel, gearing, and part of the ma- 
chinery. Indeed it is an entire wreck. The stone 
dry-house and office, with several thousand dollars' 
worth of yarns and goods, is swept away. At Crozer- 
ville the cotton-house, with about thirty bales of 
cotton, is carried off, the machinery in the lower room 
much injured, the race and dam nearly destroyed, and 
all the fences, yards, &c, torn up. 

" The other mills suffered much less than ours, but 
several dwelling-houses were carried away, and — sor- 
rowful to relate — one family of three grown persons 
and one child were swept down and perished." 

Two days later he writes to his sister, Mrs. Lewis, 
that she might have definite information direct from 
himself: 

" My loss of property is very great, probably little, 
if any, short of fifty thousand dollars ; and I feel, of 
course, and feel deeply, for this is human nature ; but 
I trust and believe I meet it with the resignation of a 
Christian and the firmness of a man somewhat accus- 
tomed to vicissitudes ; and, moreover, though I have 
witnessed the result of years of diligent application 
to business pass away in a few hours, yet I have a 
considerable fortune left, sufficient, with the economy 

9 * 



102 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

which we have hitherto practised, to maintain my 
family genteelly. 

"I have not yet decided what I shall do as to re- 
building. I have to-day more than eighty people at 
work cleaning machinery, hunting for goods, washing 
and drying them, and a part digging a channel for 
the creek. Things look desolate around us, but far 
worse at West Branch and Knowlton. I am deeply 
occupied in arranging, planning, &c, so as to make 
the best of the wreck." 

His residence was, as he says, " water-locked," 
so that he could not send oif this letter when it 
was written. He adds, on the following day, a few 
lines in regard to his operations : 

"I am organizing strong forces for work. I feel 
for my people, some of whom, I think, are attached to 
me, or to my places and pay. Our vicinity looks dis- 
tressing. But such families as wish immediate employ 
can readily get work, before long, at other factories. 

"I feel, although a cripple, all the nerve and vigor 
of former days, and find myself rising little by little, or 
rather much by much, to meet the emergency; but not, 
I hope, to lean upon or trust in my own strength. If it 
please God to give me health, a few weeks or months 
will do much to restore things here ; but I have no 
expectation or intention to launch into my former ex- 
tensive business. 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 103 

"I am as calm and collected as I ever was in my 
life; and, indeed, it would be very sinful and wicked 
in me did a repining or murmuring thought cross my 
bosom. I am not conscious that such a feeling has 
found a moment's place in this breast." 

In another letter to Mrs. Campbell, a month later, 
he says : " Our vicinity yet presents a scene of deso- 
lation and ruin, though much has been done in labor 
to restore it. My Crozerville mill, which sustained 
comparatively small injury, is again in full operation. 
West Branch — poor, old West Branch ! — where nearly 
all of our property was earned, is yet a sad place. 
The large wing next the creek is clean gone, and can- 
not be rebuilt. The road leading towards Crozer- 
ville all washed away, and a new road has to be cut 
in the hillside. All the water-wheels, mill-gearing, 
with one corner of the old mill, and all of the out- 
buildings, whether of stone or wood, entirely gone, not 
a vestige remaining; no one could know that any 
such buildings had ever stood there. 

"I have a great many men at work, both me- 
chanics and laborers, and hope to get this mill going 
early in October. But it will be long before it can 
be in a prosperous train. I have ordered forty new 
looms. This number, with all that is saved from 
West Branch and Knowlton mills, will not be suffi- 
cient to fill up the one mill. Knowlton mills are 



104 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEE. 

both entirely gone. About thirty looms — collected, 
some of them, a mile down the stream — are worth 
repairing. The rest are dashed to pieces. These 
works I shall not rebuild at present, if ever. 

"My loss was greater than I supposed when I 
wrote to you last. But great as it is, I am not a poor 
man by any means. And though it was trying, ex- 
tremely so, to have the earnings of years pass away 
in a few hours, I feel now pretty much the same as 
though it were not £one. The loss need occasion no 
change in our mode of living, not even in our little 
deeds of charity, and can only be felt in the amount 
we might have to leave our children. Your sister 
bears this, as indeed she does every sudden visitation, 
with becoming firmness and resignation." 

The destruction of the Knowlton factory was fol- 
lowed by the removal of the families employed there; 
and in recording their removal Mr. Crozer gives us a 
look into his warm heart : 

" There is something impressive in the sudden 
breaking-up, like that of Knowlton; and the scatter- 
ing for ever of a little community of work-people, 
with whom I had pleasant intercourse, saddened my 
heart almost or quite as much as the loss of so valua- 
ble an estate. I really feel an interest in my people, 
an affectionate interest, but I suppose few or none 
of them think so, or are aware of it." 



1TFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE. 105 

The few weeks which immediately followed the 
great flood were peculiarly trying to Mr. Crozer. 
His mills were wholly or partially wrecked. The 
fragments of his machinery were scattered along the 
course of the stream. He says, more than two weeks 
after the disaster : " The broken machinery scattered 
everywhere makes me feel very unpleasantly. I wish 
that all which cannot be repaired were removed far 
from my sight. Then I should not have to think so 
much about it. But now it meets my eye at almost 
every turn." In addition to all this, the work on his 
house was in progress, making his home itself a scene 
of comparative confusion. As the weary days passed, 
we find such entries as the following : 

" I, as well as my son, have been in constant attend- 
ance with the men. Much labor has been done ; but 
much remains yet to do. The amount I have to 
accomplish during the present autumn, to get my 
business in a profitable train, appalls me, and I often 
feel the weight as almost intolerable." 

"When I think of the amount of out-door labor 
which I have yet on hand, and of the near approach 
of cold weather, I am almost discouraged. Yet each 
day makes a little less; and by-and-by all will no 
doubt appear right and easy." 

In view of the unintermitted pressure of business, 
it is not strange that we meet shortly after, the follow- 



106 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEB. 

ing entry at the close of one of his laborious weeks : 
" This forenoon a dizziness came over me, from which 
I have not yet fully recovered. I have felt a fullness 
for some days. I was much alarmed to-day and came 
home. I felt almost afraid of falling from my horse. 
Oh what a poor creature I am, tied down to business, 
a slave !" 

Thus in recovering from the effects of the great 
freshet, business and its perplexities sometimes nearly 
overwhelmed him ; yet we find Mr. Crozer rising 
above such affairs, and expressing his amazement that 
life and its temporal concerns should take such hold 
of a person of his years, who has already much of 
this world's goods in store : " It has long been the 
deep conviction of my mind that it can be of no 
benefit to my children to have more than a very 
moderate fortune." And in this connection he adds : 
" I yet hope that some field of usefulness, of a spiritual 
nature, may open to me, and that I may be led to 
enter upon it with zeal — not with blind zeal, but 
according to knowledge ; an honest zeal for my divine 
Master, and a sincere and prayerful desire to be 
instrumental in spreading a love for the Lord and 
Saviour." 

During the autumn of this year a very old lady, 
a friend of his mother, had been visiting at Marcus 
Hook, and it was the intention of Mr. Crozer to 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZEB. 107 

invite her to his house ; but the peculiar condition of 
things prevented, and under a press of business he 
had postponed a call till she was about returning to 
the city. 

On account of the love he bore his mother he 
wished to show kindness to her aged friend, and he 
says, "- 1 feel self-condemned in not having visited ere 
now this good old lady, the only surviving friend of 
my dear departed mother." How he loved and re- 
vered his mother and how he cherished her memory 
is apparent in those thoughts of eternity which he 
occasionally records: U I have this afternoon, while 
at my work, been much engaged in reflection upon 
death and eternity — awful subjects— but yet facts 
which all living must soon realize. I thought of my 
revered mother, surely a saint in bliss. Oh ! shall I 
be permitted to join her ?" 

Although Mr. Crozer always recognized the impor- 
tance of intellectual culture and growth in grace, and 
was impatient at remaining stationary in these par- 
ticulars, yet in December of this year we find this 
record : 

" Business, business, business ! I get no time for 
reading, even in the evenings. My day of improve- 
ment seems to have passed by. I will try to make 
some use of the experience I have acquired, and to be 
more useful to others during the remnant of my days. 



108 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

I am afraid of going deeply into business again ; it is 
not fear of pecuniary loss, but of giving up too far to 
the engrossing eares of life. None but those who 
have been deeply engaged in business know how hard 
it is to keep the mind properly balanced, so as to 
avoid yielding to the absorbing concerns of this world. 
TTell did our Saviour caution us against the deceit- 
fulness of riches, and declare how hardly they who 
have them can enter the kingdom of heaven/' 

In the Bible and Tract Societies of the county 
Mr. Crozer thought he might find a field of useful- 
ness, and be able to speak through the printed pages. 
He therefore took an active interest in both societies, 
giving to them his time, hie influence, and his money. 

He spent the anniversary of his birth, in 1844, in 
reading, meditation, and prayer; which was in accord- 
ance with the resolution he had made two years 
before : 

"This is my birthday. I have completed my fifty- 
first year. The past year, although I have had much 
to make it more tedious than most of its predecessors, 
does not appear long. Upon a review of the past 
year, I would fain believe that I have learned some- 
thing to advantage. Affliction of body and loss of 
property seals home the truth, that vanity is inscribed 
upon all earthly good. I will not, I think, again dip 
60 deeply into business as to destroy my own leisure, 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEE. 109 

but will work through others. I have had but little 
leisure since the great freshet, but am gradually 
arranging for my own ease; yet the coming year I 
shall have much to attend to, if I am spared. I will 
try, through divine grace, to keep my mind un- 
fettered. It is not employment which is injurious. 
On the contrary, I believe an active life is best for 
me. But I must labor, and wrestle, and pray for 
assistance to keep my mind unshackled and live a life 
of prayer." 

A few days subsequent to this we find him in 
attendance, on a bitter cold day, at a meeting of the 
Bible Society of the county. He was anxious that 
work should be done, and that money should be 
raised to carry the work forward. He made an 
earnest appeal for liberal contributions. But most 
of those present stood aloof. One of the richest men 
in the county objected to so much giving for work 
abroad. This objection had more weight than Mr. 
Crozer's appeal. In referring to this meeting, Mr. 
Crozer says : 

"I have ever found that the man who is most 

anxious to provide for his own church and his own 

vicinity, and who gives most freely for these purposes, 

has a hand most open for distant charities. Oh, how 

selfish, how in love with the world, how indifferent to 

the cause of enlarged benevolence is unregenerate man ! 
10 



110 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE. 

And duty and a sense of truth bid me record the 
lamentable fact, that the visible members of Christ's 
Church are deeply tinctured — far too deeply — with 
the same unholy qualities. 

" God preserve me and mine, I pray, from contracted^ 
ness,from selfishness, from illiberedity of pocket or mind. 
I dare not congratulate myself, but I would willingly 
feel grateful that God has, as I trust, given me a 
warm, feeling, and generous heart, ever accessible to 
sympathy, and that he has blessed me with the 
means of doing some good. Let me strive to increase 
these feelings. Let me pray for judgment to discern 
what objects are most worthy of assistance. And let 
the parsimony of others affect me only by making me 
more free and cheerful in my gifts/" 

The prayer which he offered for himself was heard, 
and the answer makes each year of his subsequent 
course shine more brightly. His contributions in- 
creased in freedom and cheerfulness, and were guided 
by a far-seeing wisdom. The prayer for his family 
has also been largely answered, and no doubt will 
continue to be, even until the end. 

Mr, Crozer did not read for pastime or merely for 
the improvement of his mind. He ever kept in view 
heart-culture. When reading James' " Christian Pro- 
fessor/' he says: "I see much, very much, in this 
book to convince me that my standard of piety is far 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. Ill 

too low. I will try, and strive, and pray for assist- 
ance to elevate it." And again, when reading the 
chapter on Prosperous Professors, he says : " I find 
much in this to caution me, much to admonish and 
create alarm at the thought of being rich. O God ! 
I pray thee, make me feel the solemn responsibility 
of my condition. As the steward of large and in- 
creasing temporal gifts and blessings, give me a dis- 
criminating judgment, an open hand, and a warm and 
devoted heart; and keep me from a hoarding, covetous 
spirit." 

Of the Life of Andrew Fuller, he says : " What an 
indefatigable man, pressing forward amidst heavy and 
oft-repeated family afflictions, and many other dis- 
couragements! "What a mass of labor for the good 
of his fellows and the glory of God ! Oh ! when I 
review my life, and think how little I have improved 
my talent, I am self-abased and deeply grieved." 

The cause of temperance found a patron and advo- 
cate in Mr. Crozer. He was always ready to aid the 
cause in any practicable way, and we find him, in 
February of this year, joining others in an effort to 
establish a temperance hotel at Chester, which was 
greatly needed. He was always present at the quar- 
terly meetings of the county temperance society, and we 
see, in his endeavour to restore a by-law requiring the 
meetings to be opened with prayer, that he regarded 



112 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

the favor and help of God as essential to the success 
of the cause. Notice having been given that the 
question of restoring the by-law would come up at 
the March meeting on a motion made by Mr. Crozer, 
he prepared a written speech, which he read on the 
occasion. There was much discussion, in opposition 
to the motion, as well as in its favor, but the law was 
restored by a small majority. 

In May of this year, Mr. Crozer attended the 
meeting of the Baptist Triennial Convention at Phila- 
delphia, and made himself a member by the payment 
of one hundred dollars. That year slavery was dis- 
cussed both in the Triennial Convention, and at the 
Home Mission Anniversary, and the decision which 
was reached surprised him. The question, whether 
slaveholders should be appointed missionaries, was 
decided in favor of their appointment by nearly two to 
one, and on that decision he says: "So far as the 
assembly could do so, the chains were riveted more 
strongly upon the unfortunate blacks. Oh ! is Chris- 
tianity to countenance slavery? I heard with amaze- 
ment the aged in the convention vehemently 

declare, that slavery was not a moral evil. Yes, this 
aged minister of the gospel pronounced the dreadful 
curse of the nation to be no moral evil ! It is to me 
not a little surprising that men, in no way connected 
with slavery, should be so ready to endorse the views 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 113 

of the slaveholder. These, in my opinion, have more 
to answer for than even those who hold their fellow- 
creatures in bondage. This vexed question in all 
probability will sooner or later divide the Northern 
and Southern Baptists." 

Ten months after this, a Quaker friend sent him a 
pamphlet on the proceedings of the Society of Friends 
in reference to slavery. He said of this pamphlet : 
" I am highly pleased and struck with the prudence, 
the calm and steady perseverance, the slow, careful, 
yet unwavering determination which characterized 
these conscientious men, until they accomplished their 
object. Would to God that other denominations 
patterned after them in Christian prudence and steady 
aim ! And oh, that all that name the name of Jesus 
would depart from the iniquity of holding fellow- 
creatures in bondage and perpetual servitude !" 

When the enlargement of his house was completed, 
and the question came up how it should be furnished, 
we see Mr. Crozer exhibiting his habitual conscien- 
tiousness. The question presented to his mind was 
not, What may a wealthy manufacturer do? but 
this : What ought a Christian to do ? He says of 
himself and wife : " We both value consistency, and as 
professors of religion it becomes us to seek plainness 
and simplicity in all things. I do not fear a fine 
house and its appendages becoming our idol, yet it 

10* H 



114 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

might be an inquiry how far a Christian ought ta 
gratify himself in the luxuries of life. It is certain 
that the duties of charity and acts of benevolence 
increase with increasing means ; but I am not sure 
that it is improper to indulge in matters of taste in 
proportion to increased wealth, provided acts of 
liberality bear a corresponding increase." 

Mr. Crozer had frequent occasion to observe how 
much more interest some professors of religion took in 
politics, than in the Bible, tract, or temperance cause; 
and how much more ready they were to give money 
to advance the cause of a party, than they were to 
help extend the cause of Christ. During the Presi- 
dential campaign this summer and autumn, he said : 
" Politics are the all-absorbing subject, and religion is 
scarcely spoken of, much less felt. Men's minds are 
callous to every good impression, and I much fear 
that vice and immortality have spread in the past 
year through the instrumentality of political con- 
ventions." 

Though he had a direct pecuniary interest in some 
of the political questions at issue, he wished all 
temporal interests to be subordinate to spiritual ; 
Christ all and in all. He took no active part in the 
campaign, yet he laments that he sees in himself 
"little or no growth in grace, little or no increase in 
spirituality of mind or deadness to the world." 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 115 

On the 22d of November he attended a meeting, 
when several ministers spoke on the importance of 
secret devotion. He makes this utterance on the 
subject : "Oh that this poor heart of mine were more 
engaged in private prayer, and that I might more 
frequently and voluntarily be drawn to pour out my 
soul in secret to God I" And shortly after this he 
made the following entry : "As a general rule, I hope 
I shall never fail to attend public worship : a neglect 
to do this would almost certainly make me neglectful 
of private devotion ; the one is a great aid to the 
other. The closet is essential to the profitable exer- 
cise of public worship, and on the other hand a 
voluntary neglect of public worship would almost 
certainly be followed by a neglect of private devo- 
tion." 

Notwithstanding the care of an extensive business, 
and the duty he so faithfully discharged in his own 
family, Mr. Crozer found time to visit the sick, give 
them his sympathy, and pray with them. Repeated 
cases of the kind are entered in his diary. The 
blacksmith who came to his assistance at the time 
his thigh was broken was repeatedly visited during 
an illness which proved mortal. A tenant, dying of 
consumption, was visited, carefully questioned, and 
instructed in regard to the way of life. Just before he 
departed he told his friends that he did not think 



116 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

he was converted till after Mr. Crozer's last visit. 
In reference to that statement, Mr. Crozer, with 
accustomed modesty, says: "He must, I think, have 
meant that he only then felt more confidence and a 
stronger faith." January 19th this entry is made : 
" I yesterday visited, conversed, and prayed with the 

H family — one of my tenants — the female head 

of which is confined to her bed, in a decline." May 
9th, after making a call on this woman, he speaks of 
her as "now apparently near the end. She seems 
resigned, and on a late occasion, when I was with her, 
she was rather anxious to depart. Until recently she 
was alarmed at the nearness of death ; but seems now 
to be calm and without fear." And he adds in this 
connection: "Oh, how unfitted am I to administer 
consolation to a dying believer ! Oh that I possessed 
a deeper piety in my own soul !" 

These brief extracts are made to show that as a 
Christian Mr. Crozer recognized no distinctions of 
calling or social position ; but the sympathies of his 
kind and generous nature went out to "every crea- 
ture," in the fullness of the great commission. 

It was the desire of Mr. Crozer that his children 
should be happy in the enjoyment of innocent pleas- 
ure. The older children passed their "Christmas 
holidays" in the city, to which fact he alludes when 
he says: "I love to contribute to the enjoyment of 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 117 

my children, but the old are too unwilling to make 
proper allowances for the young ; and it is not always 
easy to determine how far one should indulge them in 
their minority; either extreme is dangerous. I feel 
that I live, in part at least, for my children ; and I 
therefore would seek their permanent benefit in all 
my plans ; and hope, while I seek their temporal good, 
I shall not be inattentive to their spiritual interests." 
The entry which the subject of this memoir made 
the day he entered the fifty-third year of his age 
shows how earnestly he desired increase of holiness 
and usefulness : " I wish to spend much time to-day 
in self-examination and prayer, and in humiliation 
before God. Oh, how consoling it would be, could I, 
upon a review of the past, be clearly satisfied that I 
had subdued any untoward propensity in the past 
year ; that more enlarged benevolence had ruled in my 
breast; and especially, that the love of God had more 
abounded in my heart ! But, alas ! I cannot see any 
perceptible change, and almost fear that there has been 
a retrograde movement. O Thou, who knowest all 
things, look upon a weak, sinful man in mercy ; aid 
by thy Holy Spirit, and lead me to the cross ! Oh, 
point out my duty, and give me firm purpose of mind, 
that I may, with unshaken resolve, walk in thy ways ! 
Oh, direct me in the year I am about to commence ! 
And if I am spared, may the fifty-third year of my 



L 



118 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 

life be one which shall manifest much growth in 
grace and greatly increased usefulness in thy church. 
Keep me humble; so humble and meek before thee, 
that thou wilt not find it necessary to chasten me 
with affliction. Open some path of increased useful- 
ness, that I may not live in vain ; enable me to con- 
secrate myself and mine to thy service. I especially 
feel the want of a stronger faith, and I shall labor 
and wrestle and agonize for an increase of this excel- 
lent grace. O my God ! help my unbelief; strengthen 
my weak faith ; enable me to see thee as my Lord 
and my God, my Redeemer, my all !" 

In February, 1845, Mr. Crozer purchased the 
Flower estate, which was situated about two miles 
from Chester. It consisted of sixty-five acres of 
ground, beautifully located upon Chester Creek, with 
a fine mill-seat. He gave to this new property the 
name of Upland. This purchase gave full play to 
that love for building and improving which was 
characteristic of him ; yet in anticipating the pleasure 
he would derive from his favorite employment, he 
says: "I feel the necessity of constant striving to 
keep my affections from being too much fastened on 
this life. Oh, how fascinating are the interests of 
time, and how prone we are to keep eternity in the 
background ! How hard to live for two worlds ; 
how I need aid from on high to enable me to do so !" 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE. 119 

Mr. Crozer was not exempt from the annoyances 
and vexations which are inseparable from the employ- 
ment of unskilled mechanics and blundering laborers, 
some of whom will almost always be found in a large 
gang of hands. His " fiery temper," as he called it, 
would sometimes for a moment gain the mastery, and 
then he would say something to a workman which he 
would immediately regret, and, at his leisure, mourn 
over. This liability to be thrown off his balance was 
a cause of great grief to him, and a matter about 
which he called himself to strict account, In March, 
1845, he made this entry: " To-day I feel truly un- 
comfortable ; suffered my temper to get the better of 
me in matters with my millwrights. I showed much 
temper ; and though I perhaps had cause, I feel that 
this does not excuse me. I have to the principal 
workman expressed regret that I became angry. 
This I did out of regard to my own character ; yet, at 
the same time, I think, he was convinced that cause 
for offence was given me. But how shall I account 
to my God ? How shall I convince him that I have 
not greatly sinned, and acted in a manner unbecoming 
a Christian ? Oh, I fear that I shall never overcome 
this rash temper ! Shame on me that religion, and 
reason, and age — all combined — do not soften, and 
soothe, and calm my fiery temper I" 

Mr. Crozer had received a letter of dismission from 



120 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

the First Baptist Church, in Philadelphia, and now, 
April 12th, 1845, he took it to the Marcus Hook 
Church, and became a member there. Of this matter 
he says : " I have certainly been a profitless member 
of the First Church in Philadelphia, and fear that I 
shall scarcely be more profitable to the Marcus Hook 
Church, except in a pecuniary way, which is certainly 
the lowest grade of usefulness in a Christian church. 
Oh that I were more spiritually-minded I" Notwith- 
standing this low estimate of himself, he shortly after 
attended meeting at Marcus Hook on Sunday, and 
there being no minister, he took a part in the prayer- 
meeting, as he expresses it, "in much weakness." 

Mr. Crozer's reputed wealth attracted to him the 
agents of various religious and benevolent enterprises, 
and not unfrequently those who had no just claim on 
him. On one occasion, having subscribed to an en- 
terprise of the latter sort, and afterwards hearing that 
he had been expected to give more than he had sub- 
scribed, he made this entry in his diary: "Rich men 
must not expect to be thanked for their charities, but 
must generally expect the reverse of gratitude." 

The education of his children was a subject on 
/vdiich Mr. Crozer always exhibited the greatest solici- 
tude. Himself a great lover of books, he wished to 
excite in them a similar taste; and as the long eve- 
nings of winter approached, he arranged plans for a 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEE. 121 

course of reading. He says : " My beloved family 
will be my chief society this winter. We hope to 
spend the season profitably, and have laid plans for 
reading, &c." He gave his children the advantage 
of attending lectures on scientific subjects, and occa- 
sionally attended such lectures with them. 

In the autumn of 1845 a lady from New England 
was engaged as governess, and the education of the 
children entrusted to her care; and when they arrived 
at a proper age to leave home they were placed in the 
best schools in the city. 

This winter a law-suit, in which Mr. Crozer was 
a witness, was tried ; and he gives some good, sensible 
advice on the subject of going to law with a neighbor: 
" I have seen so much of the uncertainty of law that 
I must always prefer amicable modes of settlement 
to contests of this kind. I would rather suffer con- 
siderable wrong than enter into litigation. God pre- 
serve me and mine from a spirit of contention." And, 
after the verdict was rendered, he said : " The attend- 
ance upon this case confirms me in a former opinion, 
that it is best to settle disputes without resort to law." 

At the beginning of the year 1846, a series of 

missionary meetings was held, in Philadelphia, in the 

interest of the Missionary Union, at which Dr. Jud- 

son was present, and also the missionaries Abbott and 

Kincaid. Mr. Crozer was present at one of these 
li 



122 LIFE OF JOHN F. CROZER. 

meetings, held in Sansom Street Church, and made 
himself a life member of the Union. Afterward he 
had a private interview with Dr. Judson. This in- 
terest in foreign missions was deepened by all he 
heard, and he pledged to Dr. Judson his prayers and 
contributions — a pledge which he faithfully kept. 

His birthday, January 13th, 1816, was spent in 
retirement ; he occupied a part of the time in read- 
ing James' " Christian Professor." In recording his 
thoughts on the teachings of that book, he says: "It 
is a mirror exhibiting many of my shortcomings and 
much of my sinfulness. In reading in regard to the 
duties of a prosperous professor in worldly matters, 
I feel self-condemned. I am not given up to pomp 
and pleasure; I have not, perhaps, become proud and 
haughty, nor enslaved to the love of money. But I 
am worldly-minded, and have my affections fastened 
down to life. I find no great difficulty in giving of 
my increase, though I probably do not give as I 
ought to do. But this is easy to do; easy for the 
man out of his thousands of increase to give a few 
hundreds. There is even a danger here, for a man 
may thus satisfy in a measure his conscience, and 
suppose he has then rendered an equivalent. The 
great danger of rapidly-increasing wealth to a Chris- 
tian is not, in my view, that of covetousness, so much 
as that of being so much occupied in worldly things as 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 123 

to lose all relish and love for devotional exercises. I 
love to give of my substance; I trust I should find 
pleasure in giving, if no human eye beheld, or ear 
heard of my doings." 

On this occasion, in reviewing his life, he speaks in 
the tenderest manner of his wife, describing her as 
"my dear partner, with whom I have now lived in 
the utmost harmony and love for nearly tw T enty-one 
years, and I am persuaded that no woman could have 
done more to make me happy." At another time, 
he writes: "Amongst the chiefest of my causes for 
gratitude to Almighty God for his unmerited bless- 
ings, I must ever place in the front and foreground 
my beloved partner in life. Her domestic virtues I 
hold to be unsurpassed. She makes our home cheer- 
ful and inviting, so that it is now externally and inter- 
nally a lovely home, and such as a prince might 
covet." Again he says : " Oh that all our dear family 
had the sweet and humble piety of their mother! 
This excellent woman becomes more and more dear 
to me. I delight to honor her." 

When the balance-sheet for the year 1845 was made 
up, and he saw how very great the profits were, he 
says: "With all the profits, I feel a pang and a 
want of entire satisfaction. The inquiries, What does 
it avail to myself, or what will it avail to my family? 
— what increased good am I doing with my increased 



124 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZE R. 

fortune? — how am I purposing to account for my 
stewardship? these inquiries force themselves upon 
me, and I dare not put them away. God enable me 
to meet these inquiries promptly, and suffer me not 
to grow more hard-hearted than I now am; but, on 
the contrary, open the kindly feelings of my soul, and 
inspire me with love and benevolence and every 
Christian grace." 

Mr. Crozer felt that wealth was a trust committed 
to him by the Giver of all good, and that he must act 
in view of that day when he would be called to give 
an account of this trust. Whenever he makes a re- 
view of his life, this idea of a stewardship is upper- 
most in his mind. 

Early in the next year he says : " One part of duty 
appears clear to me and unmistakable, viz., that I 
ought to honor God more with my substance. I 
have a large fortune : it becomes an inquiry, How far 
I should suffer it to increase when so many objects of 
charity are abroad?" 

A remark made by a mechanic caused Mr. Crozer 
to suspect that it was possible he had not treated a 
neighbor with proper consideration. He says: "Late 
as it is in life, I wish to cultivate more and more a 
Christian spirit — to feel more and more kindly to my 
fellow-creatures;" and, in view of his necessity in 
these particulars, he gives expression to his feelings 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 125 

in this prayer : " O Thou ! before whom I must give 
an early account, cleanse this selfish heart, give me a 
deeper and more intimate knowledge of my unworthi- 
ness; make me more ready to acts of kindness, more 
ready to abase myself; keep me from bitterness toward 
others. May I be able to see myself in the light in 
which I am viewed, not by my fellow-creatures, but 
by thee, my Creator and my God, that I may pros- 
trate myself before thee in the depths of humiliation." 

Prior to 1847, Mr. Crozer makes frequent mention 
of his eldest son, Samuel, on whose shoulders he 
hoped, by-and-by, to lay a part of the burden of his 
extensive business. In his diary this son is fre- 
quently mentioned as going abroad on business, 
sometimes in company with his father, and often to 
Philadelphia in the place of his father. At certain 
crises the father finds himself unconsciously leaning 
upon him; and now, on the 1st of January, 1847, he 
receives him into partnership, he having reached his 
majority a few days before. 

As usual, at the beginning of a year, after his books 
were written up and the balance-sheet spread out 
before him, Mr. Crozer speaks of the increase of his 
property, and of the fact that wealth does not neces- 
sarily bring substantial and satisfying pleasure. He 
says : " I feel much of the vanity and deceit of riches. 

Much more, I think, than formerly ; and yet, strange 

11 * 



126 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZER. 

to tell, I am still anxious to have profitable returns. 
Were not this in conformity with the testimony of 
other rich rnen, I should write myself down as differ- 
ing from all others. To feel the utter worthlessness 
of riches, and yet all the time to be making haste to 
be rich, is a strange feature in human nature, or, at 
least, in mine." 

Allusion has already been made to the purchase, in 
1845, of the Flower estate, to which Mr. Crozer had 
given the name of Upland. At the time of its pur- 
chase he had little expectation of making it his home. 
It had been bought mainly for its water-power. But, 
with advancing years, Mr. Crozer felt increasingly the 
length of his ride from Crozcrville to the cars at Ches- 
ter, and had decided on the erection of a spacious 
mansion at Upland as a home for his family. This 
mansion was now completed, the surrounding grounds 
laid out, and the planting of flowers and shade trees 
commenced. Although the new place was beautiful 
— probably the most beautiful in Delaware County — 
as the time drew near for his removal from a home 
where, and at West Branch, he had passed twenty- 
two of the most eventful years of his life, he says: 
"I feel somew T hat sad at the thought of leaving a 
place with which are coupled so many of the leading 
events of my life. We have a fine house, gardens, 
and shrubbery, with mountain or hill scenery: well 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEE. 127 

may visitors to this our happy home inquire why we 
remove." 

On the 19th of May, 1847 ; the removal was 
effected — "a day of pensiveness, if not of gloom/' 
says Mr. Crozer. Crozerville and West Branch both 
remained in his possession, and his business called 
him weekly amid their much-loved scenes; but the 
story of his life is henceforth to be associated with 
the place of his longer residence and his larger useful- 
ness at Upland. 



CHAPTER X. 

HOME AT UPLAND. 
1847 — 1866. 

UPLAND is beautifully situated upon Chester 
Creek, about two miles from its entrance into the 
Delaware. It is within the limits of the ancient 
town of Chester. Chester was settled by the Swedes, 
in the year 1643; and has the distinction of being 
the oldest town in the State of Pennsylvania. Eng- 
lish settlers had found their way among the Swedes 
before the arrival of "William Penn, and landings by 
the English had also been effected on the Delaware 
both above and below the original site of Chester. 
Indeed, as early as 1640, Puritans from Connecticut, 
desirous "of planting churches after a godly sort" 
and "to trade and traffic with the Indians along 
Delaware Bay," made a purchase of land for thirty 
pounds sterling, transported thither about fifty fami- 
lies, and erected trading-houses. 

This curious connection between piety and trade 
illustrates a trait not yet wholly eradicated from Con- 

12S 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 129 

necticut character. It is much in the vein of a letter 
to Secretary Walsingham from the good old navigator 
Captain Davis, who, with a simplicity that is quite 
refreshing, says : " If these people (the Indians of 
America) were once brought over to the Christian 
faith, they might soon be brought to relish a more 
civilized kind of life, and be thereby induced to 
take off great quantities of our coarser woolen manu- 
factures." 

It was probably this party of New Englanclers 
whose progress awakened the attention of William 
Kieft, the Dutch Governor of New Amsterdam, who, 
in 1642, fitted out tw T o sloops to drive the English 
from the mouth of the Schuylkill. 

Up to the time of Pernios arrival, in October, 1682, 
Chester had been known by the name of Upland, but 
it was to bear that name no more. Without reflection, 
it is hoped, Penn determined that the name of the 
place should be changed. On the very day of his 
arrival — a day that is not certainly known* — he 
turned to his friend Pearson, who had accompanied 

* Neither the exact date nor the manner of Penn's landing at 
Upland is certainly known, though authors have been lavish in 
their descriptions of the event. His letter to Ephraim Hermann, 
dated at "Upland" on the "29th of October," 1682, shows that he 
had then arrived, but it may have been, and probably was, only 
the day before. 

I 



130 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZEE. 

him in the ship " Welcome 55 from England, and said : 
"Providence has brought us here safe. Thou hast 
been the companion of my perils. What wilt thou 
that I should call this place?" Pearson answered 
" Chester," in remembrance of the city from whence 
he came. Penn replied that it should be called 
Chester* Thus, under the influence of a momentary 
feeling, the name of the oldest town in the province, 
with its memories of forty years, was effaced for ever. 
It has been well remarked, in this connection, that 
" Great men occasionally do little things." 

Perhaps no spot in the vicinity of Chester was so 
well worthy to receive and perpetuate its ancient 
name as the estate to which Mr. Crozer had now 
removed; for while it lay within the boundaries of 
Swedish Upland, it was also seized upon at once, on 
the arrival of Penn and his company, for the advan- 
tages of its water-power, and is associated with some 
of the oldest memories of their early settlement. 

The celebrated "Chester Mills," which were framed 
in England, and came to this country in the " Wel- 
come" with William Penn, were erected in 1683, 
within the limits of the Upland estate. Next to the 
old "Swedes 5 Mill," upon Cobb 5 s Creek, this was the 
oldest mill in the province. Traces of its dam are still 

* Clarkson's Life of William Penn, i. 259; Haz. Annals, 695. 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 131 

visible.* The dwe] ling-house of Caleb Pusey, the 
agent and manager of the mills, built also in 1683, is 
still standing upon the property. It is probably the 
oldest dwelling-house in the State. Mr. Crozer was 
certainly happy in his choice when he called his new 
property Upland. 

On the change of his residence from Crozerville to 
Upland, he was careful that the removal should result 
in no serious loss of religious privileges. In April 
preceding, he had commenced at Upland a building 
to be used temporarily as a plan of worship and also 
for the meeting of a Sunday-school. While he men- 
tions this, he also alludes to his plan for a better 
house. "I hope," he says, " hereafter, to erect a 
building to be dedicated exclusively to the worship 
of the living God. The present upper room may 
suffice for a short season." This hope he was per- 
mitted to realize, as will appear in the course of the 
narrative. 

Mr. Crozer had a special concern for one of the 
ordinances of the Lord, which has often been sadly 
neglected by the churches. He had read in the 
Scriptures, "Even so hath the Lord ordained, that 
they which preach the gospel should live of the 

* A deed of this mill, executed in 1705, reciting the facts of its 
establishment, and the partnership under which it was owned, 
may be found in the Eecorder's office at Westchester, Book B. 1. 



132 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

gospel f and he thought that whatsoever the Lord had 
ordained should be carfully observed by the churches. 
In the spring of 1847 he refers to this subject, and 
says: "It is to be regretted that a minister of the 
gospel should have to resort for his support to any 
pursuit not connected with the preaching of the word. 
Yet so it is very often. Their usefulness is thus in 
danger of being weakened or destroyed. Would to 
God that the churches would better support the min- 
isters of the gospel !" Thus, before he held any office 
in the church, he was alive to one of the general 
sources of discomfort and weakness in the ministry. 
In subsequent days, when he was called to the office 
of a deacon, he was always careful to see that every 
reasonable provision was made for the support and 
comfort of the pastor. 

Soon after his establishment in the new home, Mr. 
Crozer, with his daughters Margaret and Elizabeth, 
started on a tour through Middle Pennsylvania, visit- 
ing, in the course of his journey, the grave of Dr. 
Priestley, at Northumberland ; and Lewisburg, the 
chosen seat of a university, to the founding of which 
he had already subscribed, and to whose endowment 
he afterwards became the largest contributor. At 
this place he spent two entire days, viewing the town, 
the site for the buildings, and mingling with the peo- 
ple. The result of his visit he thus records: "At 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZER. 133 

first, I did not think well of the location or of the 
scheme; but now I am better pleased. Buffalo 
Valley, in which Lewisburg stands, is fertile and well 
cultivated. It is a beautiful country. And the in- 
habitants of Lewisburg are more enterprising than 
those of any town along the river. I hope the uni- 
versity may be an honor to the denomination, and 
redound to the glory of God." 

This was a busy year with Mr. Crozer, and as he 
neared its close, he wrote: "I have much reason to 
fear that a fine house and large possessions may have 
retarded my growth in the divine life and kept me 
barren and unfruitful. Oh that I were more under 
the law of Christ, more spiritually-minded, and less 
the servant of sin ! Worldly-mindedness, alas ! keeps 
down Christian graces, and blunts the finer faculties 
of the soul." We find him grieving much over the 
absence of spirituality of mind, and the fact that 
during the past year he had been of so little use in 
the cause of Christ. 

His diary gives abundant proof of his deep and 

wise concern for the culture of his children. He 

says : " The education and training of my children will 

require much of my attention, and I feel it my duty 

to attend to them more than I have hitherto done. 

I desire to give them a religious training, without 

severity or too much restraint." We notice, after 
12 



134 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 

this record, that he becomes especially observant of 
anything that might furnish them healthful amuse- 
ment or give them valuable instruction. It was a 
part of his system of family training thus to care for 
their pleasure and profit. We find him going with 
his younger sons "to see a child fifteen years old, 
twenty -seven inches high, and weighing fifteen 
pounds. He is healthy and well formed; he sings, 
talks, walks, dances, and runs; and is altogether a 
remarkable personage. But I cannot much approve 
of the public exhibition of this poor child, happy as 
he appears to be. My dear little boys, however, were 
much pleased, and ' General Thomas Thumb/ I pre- 
sume, will always live in their memory." 

About the same time he visited, with his daughters, 
the Chinese Museum in Philadelphia. After describ- 
ing the exhibition with a minuteness that showed 
how attentively he had examined it, he adds: "Visits 
of this kind I highly approve of, both for young and 
old. They afford the best means, at this remote dis- 
tance, of becoming acquainted with a people. In two 
or three hours' examination of this museum one may 
form a better idea of Chinese habits and customs than 
by reading for many days." Thus he sought for 
means of instruction for those of his family further 
advanced in years, and sources of amusement suited 
to the little ones. 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZEB. 135 

It will be remembered that Thanksgiving Day, 
which has so long been the great social festival of 
New England, was, until very recently, unknown in 
this State. In 1847, Mr* Orozer writes on that day: 
" Pennsylvania has but lately come into the New 
England plan of having a day of the autumn set apart 
as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God for our 
common blessings as a nation. More than one-half 
of the United States have, by the recommendation 
of their respective governors, set apart this day. I 
think well of the plan. And though few, very few, 
may regard the clay in a proper manner, yet it is 
acknowledging an overruling Providence as a people; 
and will, in a greater or less degree, direct the thoughts 
of some to the Source of all earthly blessings." 

The anniversary of his birth, January 13th, 1848, 
found him free from the cares of business, and at 
liberty to pass the day, in accordance with his 
annual custom, in reading, meditation, and prayer. 
He says of his spiritual condition: "I am, perhaps, 
as regular as usual in external acts of devotion, 
but I have little liveliness of feeling, little fondness 
for frequent meditation, and but little freedom in 
secret or family prayer. Occasionally the case is 
otherwise — a little green spot sometimes spreads it- 
self around me — but these exceptions are few and far 
between. I find that I have done less in charity the 



136 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEB. 

past year than in some former ones. There is, how- 
ever, ample opportunity to make amends for this 
neglect; although I do not recollect any pressing 
case which I turned away. Excuses are so easily 
framed, and the heart of man so deceitful, that one 
can easily reason himself into the belief that, all 
things considered, he has done pretty well. I find 
such a process of reasoning in my own mind; but 
calm reflection tells me I have not done well. I am 
a very unprofitable servant to so good a Master; and 
as he has made me the steward of a large estate, it 
becomes me to 'lend to the Lord' freely of my sub- 
stance. I have never lost by this loan; in mercantile 
language, 'it has ever brought me a good return for 
my adventures.' 

"I must needs have employment. Would to God 
I might be directed to some field of enlarged useful- 
ness, in which no self-interest could ensue ! I now 
persuade myself that, with all my ardor for business, 
I am not actuated by the love of gain ; but I fear this 
is somewhat doubtful. Were I engaged in some 
benevolent object, in which my religious feelings 
could be increased and strengthened, my sympathies 
with humanity be enlarged, and all my faculties called 
into action in behalf of fallen human nature, it seems 
to me that such pursuits would be more suited for an 
old man, who has abundance of this world's goods — • 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZER. 137 

abundance of means to secure to himself and family 
every desirable comfort. And now, when I am to 
commence my fifty-sixth year, I pray God I may be 
kept from the love of the world, from every pursuit 
which may interfere with my spiritual interest and 
my growth in grace. O my Lord, if it is thy right- 
eous pleasure, direct me clearly and decisively to some 
path of duty and of usefulness, apart from the ab- 
sorbing influences of wealth and worldly-mindedness." 

A few days after, when lamenting his inability to 
speak and pray in public, he says : " I may perhaps 
be equally useful in sustaining messengers of mercy, 
and in operating through others. O God, grant that 
while I live, I may yet be more useful than heretofore, 
and, as I am in the full maturity of age, with large 
knowledge of mankind and of the business world, 
that my experience may be in some way brought into 
action for the benefit of others." 

In the direction of the desire for usefulness thus 

expressed, we find Mr. Crozer meeting a number of 

gentlemen at Mr. S. M. Leiper's, with a view of doing 

something for benevolent objects, such as the tract, 

temperance, and Bible cause. Mr. Crozer offered to 

give one dollar for every three that might be raised 

in the county. Correspondence was opened with the 

American Tract Society, with a view of securing the 

labors of efficient colporteurs. It was natural that 
12* 



138 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEE. 

one who had so great faith in the power of a good 
book should turn to this method of usefulness in his 
endeavor to benefit his native county. 

In the spring of 1848, Mr. Crozer was engaged in 
improving and beautifying his grounds at Upland — a 
work in which he took much pleasure, and of which 
he says : " While I am seeking to improve the 
exterior of my grounds, I would to God I were 
cultivating the unproductive ground of my own cold 
heart. Oh that every noxious weed, every foul stain, 
were removed ; and that I might hope, with more un- 
shaken confidence, that the blessings in store for the 
pure in heart are to be my portion !" 

Twenty years ago, liberality in sentiment and action 
on the part of other denominations in their relation to 
Baptists was less observable than now. Mr. Crozer 
says : " While I was doing as much, or more, for other 
denominations than for my own, they were satisfied ; 
but I have not generally found a great deal of liber- 
ality of sentiment amongst others. This ought not 
to influence me in feelings of brotherly love or 
Christian kindness ; but in pecuniary matters perhaps 
it ought. I have given to meeting-houses and places 
of worship for other denominations pretty liberally ; 
but I do not find this reciprocated by others towards 
Baptists. Ought I not, therefore, as an act of justice 
towards my own denomination, to reserve my dona- 



2 
o 



> 

H 
cl 

f 

> 

a 




LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 139 

tions for them ? lam not sure this would be right, 
although quite universally practised. I have not yet 
been governed by this feeling, but perhaps I may be 
hereafter." 

Christmas, 1848, was a day of grand gathering of 
relations at the beautiful Upland home. About forty 
came to dinner, and, in consequence of a storm, more 
than half the visitors remained through the night. 
It was a joyous and festive occasion. Beautiful, and 
in some cases costly, presents were provided. Con- 
cerning Christmas gifts, Mr. Crozer remarks : " There 
is a refinement of feeling and sentiment, in connection 
with the practice, that meets my views, and I hope 
it may be kept up to the latest generations." 

On the 13th of January, 1849, as on previous 
birthdays, we find Mr. Crozer reviewing the past, and 
earnestly desiring higher attainments in holiness and 
a more useful Christian life: ""Would that I had 
more engagedness in spiritual exercises, more freedom 
in family and social prayer, more ardor in public 
devotional exercises ! But the past is gone, and cannot 
be recalled. I am resolved, in God's strength, that I 
will seek his glory more in the coming year ; that I 
will cast around me with more earnestness to be use- 
ful, in the way in which the Lord has qualified me to 
be useful, by honoring him with my substance." 

In February of this year, his daughter Elizabeth 



140 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZEE. 

made a public profession of religion, uniting with 
the church in Philadelphia of which the Rev. A. D. 
Gillette was pastor. This act gave Mr. Crozer great 
satisfaction. 

In March, his daughter Margaret asked permission 
to unite with the Episcopal Church, of which her 
mother was then a member. Her father acceded to 
her request ; for, well as he loved his own denomina- 
tion, and firmly as he held its distinctive principles, 
he would not, even for the happiness of having his 
daughter associated in church relations with himself, 
exert any controlling influence upon her mind. He 
greatly loved our Baptist idea of "soul liberty," and 
was accustomed to accord to the opinions of others 
the same respect which he asked for his own. 

At times he does not seem to have been so generously 
met in the exercise of this Christian liberality as he 
desired. In relation to some such occasion, he says : 
" Although Christian sentiment and Christian cour- 
tesy may soften down the kind of antagonistic feeling 
which exists between religious sects, yet it cannot be 
concealed that what is at first a preference, often a 
very slight preference, almost invariably terminates 
in prejudice, and not unfrequently in bigotry. My 
wife thinks Jam becoming much prejudiced. I fear 
it is the case ; and I do think that it has proceeded 
almost entirely from the belligerent position which I 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 141 

have found so many to assume towards my own de- 
nomination. This has gradually cooled off that ardent 
desire for union and harmony which for a series of 
years held a first place in my heart. I have found all 
to go on very well while I yielded everything ; but 
when I claimed equal rights, equal courtesy, and an 
equal position, the parallel was less favorably received 
— the case was altered. I know some happy excep- 
tions ; would to God all were exceptions !" 

The enterprise of establishing a university at 
Lewisburg had now reached a point at which the 
erection of buildings was contemplated. In April, 
Mr. Crozer spent several days at Lewisburg, securing 
a title to the land and advising in regard to the uni- 
versity buildings. It was only the long distance of 
Lewisburg from his home that prevented him from 
immediately taking an active part in the work of 
building. He notices the preparation for building, 
and shows how his own interest in the enterprise was 
gradually increasing : " I trust the institution may be 
a blessing to the whole community, and especially to 
the denomination. My feelings have become more 
enlisted in the scheme, and a few visits to Lewisburg 
will, no doubt, cause me to take hold in earnest. I 
do not particularly wish to make Baptists, but I want 
to make educated young men." 

The new dwelling at Upland, which Mr. Crozer 



142 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZE B. 

calls "my beautiful and happy home," had now be- 
come the centre of attraction to a large circle of rela- 
tions and friends; and of these there was so large a 
gathering on the 4th of July, 1849, that over eighty — 
including servants — dined there. Of this occasion, 
which gives us an idea of the generous hospitality 
which was dispensed at this princely mansion, Mr. 
Crozer says: "I am pleased in being able to con- 
tribute to the enjoyment of so many friends and con- 
nexions, young and old. It is pleasant to look at the 
numerous smiling faces around me, the nimble steps 
of youth, the high glee of children, and the sober 
pace of age, all mingling in gay and promiscuous 
groups, all apparently enjoying themselves." 

In January, 1850, on the death of an aged citizen 
of Chester, who died in poverty — a gentleman who 
had held important offices in the State and nation, 
leaving the practice of one of the learned professions 
to become an officeholder — Mr. Crozer makes the 
following comment, which those having a thirst for 
office would do well to heed. He says : "Many men, 
in the vigor and prime of life, seek offices under 
government: these are always precarious in every 
view of the case ; and I am always sorry to see a man 
take office, unless he is independent; and even then it 
is often injurious, changing the thoughts and associa- 
tions, and engendering habits which lead to neglect 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 143 

of home and family, to immorality, and in the end to 
ruin." 

In his birthday record, in 1850, he says: "I would 
fain hope that I obtain a more correct and intimate 
self-knowledge, that I am better acquainted with the 
depravity of my own heart, that I have more hu- 
miliating views of my corrupt nature, and am more 
deeply sensible of my utter helplessness. But I need 
a stronger faith in the Saviour — more of an active, 
ever-present faith, operating upon my daily life and 
conduct. I feel daily the uncertainty of my life ; yet 
there is not that full giving up of the world, that 
living above the world, which becomes a Christian, 
and especially a Christian fifty-seven years old. Fond 
as I am of active life, my plans are too much for 
time, far too little for eternity. Would to God that 
my hold of life were more loosened, and that I could 
live more for God alone, with a steady, fixed faith in 
the Saviour — that Jesus might be truly to me the 
chiefest amongst ten thousand. I dare not make 
hasty resolves, yet I would earnestly pray and ar- 
dently hope that, if I am spared, the fifty-eighth year 
of my life may evince an increase of Christian graces, 
a stronger faith, a more devotional frame of mind, a 
weaning from the world, and at the same time an 
active doing to promote the good of my fellows and 
the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom. I have 



144 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

some plans in reference to an academy at Chester, a 
place of worship at Marcus Hook, perhaps one at 
Chester also, some improvements for the comfort 
of my people, as well as some gifts for evangelical 
efforts." 

A few days previous we find him referring to the 
purchase, which he had made, of a tract of land in 
Chester, and saying : " It is my present intention to 
build an academy. This will not be good stock, yet 
it may do something for our benefit, and, I trust, for 
the benefit of the county." 

A desire to be useful to his fellow-men increased in 
Mr. Crozer with his years. We give one out of many 
similar entries in his diary : " I mourn at my weak- 
ness as a church-member. I mourn to find myself 
so little suited for a leader in prayer-meetings, or 
even in the business-meetings of the church. I have 
learned the art of making money, but of how small 
account is this ! — sordid gain — accumulation of one 
kind of dust, no better, in reality, than the clay of 
the fields around me. Oh that I could do a little for 
my Lord and Master! — a little for my friends and 
neighbors! — a little for the dying multitudes about 
me! — before I go hence to be no more on earth." 
These desires led him to appropriate action. 

A few weeks later he expresses the intention of 
giving more for religious uses, and for education at 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEB. 145 

home and abroad. In compliance with this resolu- 
tion, he is busy, during a part of the year, in erecting 
an academy at Chester, where his sons and those of 
his neighbors might be educated. He also responded 
generously to the calls of the University at Lewisburg, 
and entertained the project of building at Upland a 
house of worship at his own expense. The academy 
at Chester was completed in November, at a cost 
of about fifteen thousand dollars. 

Mr. Crozer was a keen observer at the public meet- 
ings which he attended, and was sometimes very 
plain in his criticisms on those who are so anxious to 
make speeches. After his return from one of these 
annual gatherings he makes this comment: "I was 
less edified than at some of our annual meetings. All 
passed off harmoniously, as is usual, yet too much 
prating by some, too strong a disposition to make 
speeches. I cannot speak myself, and am therefore, 
perhaps, too much inclined to censure those who 
speak much; yet the speeches on this occasion were 
evidently useless — idle talk — wasting much time and 
edifying no one." When weighty matters were under 
discussion, and were treated with a gravity suited to 
their importance, he was ever an attentive and pleased 
listener. But the whole habit of his mind made 
him restless and dissatisfied when grave men wasted 

many words on trifles, or men of little judgment 
13 K 



146 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZER. 

paraded their flippant platitudes when subjects of great 
moment were to be considered. 

The building of a church had for a long time 
occupied his mind. At the beginning of the year 
1850, when he made the purchase in Chester, and re- 
solved on building an academy, he says: "I may also, 
possibly, erect a church edifice at Chester. On this, 
however, I am not quite decided, on account of the 
peculiar condition of my own family. It must be a 
subject of deep, mature consideration and anxious 
prayer. I hope and trust that whatever I may be 
led to do will be for the best." 

In September of the same year he refers to the 
subject again: "I have long thought and talked of 
building a place of worship, either here at Upland or 
at Chester. I feel it my duty to do something, yet 
am much embarrassed as to the line of duty. My 
divided family — divided in denominational feeling — 
is a serious difficulty, and bears hard upon me when 
I bring the matter close home to my mind. I know 
not what is best. It becomes me to pray more earn- 
estly for the LorcPs direction/ 7 

It was not, however, until the opening of the new 
year, 1851, that he finally decided on the proper 
course to pursue. On the 20th of January he writes: 
" I have at length decided to build a meeting-house 
at Upland. I shall keep the lot I provided at Ches- 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 147 

ter, and may probably hereafter build there also. 
Upon mature reflection there does not seem sufficient 
material at Chester for a Baptist church at present. 
Our meeting-room at Upland is very unpleasant in 
hot weather. It, therefore, seems to be my duty to 
provide a comfortable place of worship here. The 
congregation may probably be as large, or larger, than 
if it were at Chester. I hope that good may result." 

In April, 1851, the building of a house of worship 
was began, and while the walls were going up he 
expresses an earnest desire that the work might prove 
a great blessing to the worshipers, and especially to 
the members of his own family. It being an indi- 
vidual enterprise, and Mr. Crozer quite alone as a 
Baptist in the neighborhood, he naturally felt his own 
personal responsibility, and the work of every day 
was carried to the throne of grace. 

His anxiety for the conversion of his children was 
intense, and is often expressed in his diary. And the 
Lord was about to give him the earnest desire of his 
heart. This year his son Lewis and his daughter 
Sallie gave evidence of conversion. When Sallie 
returned home from a visit, during w r hich she had 
been enjoying the benefit of a protracted meeting, he 
makes the following entry in his diary : "She appears 
thoughtful and happy. Four of my beloved children, 
I trust, are Christians; and one dear boy is in heaven; 



148 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

my first-born son is dutiful, and a useful man in 
society; he must yet be a Christian; God will in 
mercy bring him into the fold of Christ ; I trust, I 
hope, I fervently pray, that my heavenly Father will 
do it. I believe ; help thou my unbelief, my gracious 
and divine Master." With such wrestling with God 
for the conversion of his first-born, we can anticipate 
with reasonable confidence the result. 

On the 4th of January, 1852, an event occured 
w T hich gave Mr. Crozer great happiness. His wife, 
who was a member of the Episcopal Church, had for 
a long time been considering the question of her duty 
in regard to baptism, and the proposed baptism of 
her daughter Sallie seemed to her a very suitable 
occasion on which to decide this question. Her pre- 
ference had always been in the favor of the prac- 
tice of Baptists, but she now reached the conclu- 
sion that no other mode is scriptural. On the 
first Sunday of January, 1852, Mrs. Crozer, her 
daughter Sallie, and her niece, Mary Lewis, were 
buried with Christ in baptism by the Rev. A. D. 
Gillette, in Philadelphia. In recording this event, 
Mr. Crozer says: "I scarcely can realize ihe fact; 
what I have so many years wished has now come to 
pass. Oh, how it becomes me to be thankful !" He 
was all the more pleased with this act of his wife, 
from the fact that the church which was soon to be 






LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZEB. 149 

organized at Upland, on the completion of the new 
house of worship, would now comprise so many of 
his own family. In his customary birthday reflection, 
on the 13th of this month, he says: "My beloved 
companion in life, than whom a more tender, faithful, 
and devoted never lived, has, after years of reflection 
and prayer, been led to adopt the peculiar views of 
her husband in reference to baptism, and was im- 
mersed. My Sallie has also been led in the way of 
her father's views, and I trust we shall walk hand in 
hand, taking sweet counsel together and going to the 
house of God in company." 

In regard to his spiritual state, he says on his 
birthday of this year : " I fear my emotions are be- 
coming less lively. I have strong desires to be useful 
and less fondness for business pursuits with a view to 
profit, but these perhaps are more the effects of age 
and my reasoning upon the shortness of remaining 
life, than of increasing devotion to God. I would, 
however, fain hope there is some growth in grace, 
some progress in the divine life." 

Early in February there was a meeting at the Rev. 
Joseph H. Kennard's church in Philadelphia, in be- 
half of our Home Mission enterprise in New Mexico, 
which Mr. Crozer attended, and in which he was 
much interested. The missionary, Eev. H. W. Reed, 

and his wife, visited Upland the same week, and 
13* 



150 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

received not only sympathy, but a generous donation 
in aid of the mission. Mr. Crozer apparently made 
it a point to bring his family into personal contact 
with missionaries, that they might take an early 
interest in efforts to evangelize the world. He did 
just what a father should always do if he wishes his 
children to grow up fast friends of missions ; and the 
result of this training is evident to the Christian 
public. Mr. Crozer's own kind and sympathetic 
feelings for persons engaged in mission work are 
expressed in connection with the record he made of 
Mr. and Mrs. Reed's visit: "I think in the case of 
foreign and domestic missionaries we should do much 
for their comfort and enjoyment; and I think the 
attentions our family incline to show to such are 
grateful to their feelings." One of the little kind- 
nesses to Mrs. Reed was the presentation of an 
expensive book which she desired to have. 

Mr. Crozer expressed great anxiety in regard to 
the opening of the new house of worship, and what 
would follow. When it was about ready for dedica- 
tion he said of it: "I have spared no expense to 
make it attractive. But, alas ! what are bare walls, 
stone and mortar, wood and iron combined? The 
living temple is yet to be built up; the 'lively 
stones' are not yet there ; and no voice of love and 
mercy has yet been heard. We have no minister, no 






LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 151 

church. I have built the outside — the porch as it 
were — but the spiritual body needs a stronger hand 
than mine. 



7} 



March 28th was fixed upon as the day for dedica- 
tion. The day had been looked forward to by Mr. 
Crozer with deep solicitude. On the day preceding 
the dedication he thus presents to us the hopes and 
the fears which alternated in his heart ; and at the 
same time shows his submission to the will of that 
God for whose glory he had built the house: "A 
stormy, disagreeable day ; wind easterly, and a pros- 
pect of a dull day to-morrow. I am very anxious ; 
but the w T eather is not for me to decide. I have just 
now finished all the preparations. And feeling that 
my work of preparation is complete, I shall this 
afternoon labor to compose my mind and commit all 
to the Lord. It is my prayer that all may be right ; 
but I and the people about me are far too unimport- 
ant to expect peculiar favors. I am not to expect the 
equal law T s of Omnipotence set aside in my favor. 
God sends his rains upon the just and upon the un- 
just; and whatsoever he does is right. I must in 
deep humility cast myself upon him. And, if the 
day proves unfavorable to a congregation, some other 
day, many other Lord's Days, may smile upon us. 
And a church may grow and flourish in after time, 
even if now adverse winds should be permitted to 



152 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

blow upon us and scatter our hopes." The morning, 
however, opened bright and clear, in pleasing contrast 
with the weather of the previous day. Mr. Crozer 
says : " Contrary to my expectations, the Lord's Day 
was delightful — the air pure, clear, and calm; a bright 
sun and the face of nature cheerful. I awoke about 
five o'clock, and, looking out of my chamber window, 
beheld a bright star. My heart bounded, not indeed 
with the joy of youth, yet with all that would be 
expected of age." The " bright star" he accepted as 
a good omen, and it gave him pleasure akin to that 
experienced by the wise men when they saw the star 
in the East. For it was in the hope that the Saviour 
would there manifest his presence that the house was 
built. 

The ministers present on the occasion were greeted 
by a large audience. Mr. Gillette preached an ap- 
propriate discourse from the text^ "Lord, I have 
loved the habitation of thy house, and the place 
where thine honor dwelleth," and at the close of 
the sermon offered the dedicatory prayer. In the 
afternoon the Rev. William Shadrach preached an 
excellent sermon on " The miracles of Christ as sym- 
bolical of his great mission ;" and in the evening the 
Rev. Thomas S. Malcom preached from the words, 
"Simon Peter, lovest thou me?" — a sermon which 
deeply affected some of the audience. Speaking of 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 153 

the effect produced on himself by the service of the 
day, Mr. Crozer says : " When our sweet-toned organ 
began to swell, and the choir sounded out the notes 
of joy, ' Holy is the Lord/ my heart melted within 
me, and tears of joy burst from my eyes." Such was 
his anxiety that everything should pass off well at 
the dedication, that he feared he did not receive that 
spiritual benefit which he greatly desired. His diary 
says : " My mind was engaged and possessed with a 
variety of conflicting emotions; but on the whole, it 
was amongst the proudest days of my life, and such 
an one as I may probably never again witness. I 
this night feel thankful to Almighty God for the 
high stewardship he has entrusted to me, the wealth 
he has bestowed. I feel more thankful that he has 
made me, as I trust and believe, a cheerful giver. I 
give the house cheerfully. I dedicate it anew to my 
Divine Master. Oh that he may consecrate it to him- 
self ! for unless the Lord build the house, they labor 
in vain who build it." 

In the latter part of August of this year a dark 
cloud lowered over this happy family, and when it 
broke, a young and beautiful daughter — beautiful in 
character as in person — had passed away. It was the 
daughter who, with her mother, at the beginning of 
the year, had put on Christ by baptism. She had 
completed her education in the best schools of the 



154 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

city, and by unusual amiability and sweetness of 
temper had endeared herself to a large circle of 
friends. Pier loveliness of character and her dutiful- 
ness as a daughter had so won her father's heart as 
to awaken his fear that she had gained his too 
partial affection. At the time when she was seized 
with her fatal illness, Sallie was away from home 
on a visit; when it was known that her sickness 
was serious, her mother and sisters were promptly 
summoned to her bedside, and watched and nursed 
her with tender and loving care, until her sweet 
spirit passed into the keeping of the Shepherd and 
Bishop of souls. 

The death-scene is thus described by Mr. Crozer: 
"As I reached the house I was told, i You are just in 
time.'" He says: "I ran up stairs, and oh, the sad, 
the dreadful spectacle ! The dying child was sur- 
rounded by her brothers and sisters, with their mother 
and a few other relations. I spoke to her, but she 
heeded not. The agonies of death had taken fast 
hold upon her, and the King of Terrors was grap- 
pling with the form I loved. Her sufferings seemed 
terrible, but it is supposed by the doctor that she was 
unconscious of it all. A little more than an hour 
after my arrival the spirit winged its flight. We sat 
chiefly in silence. I endeavored to pray and commit 
myself and my family to God. Oh, the inexpressible 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 155 

sadness of that never-to-be-forgotten hour ! It must 
live with rne and mine throughout our career of life." 

In describing Sallie's life and character, her father 
said : " Her alacrity in waiting upon and contributing 
to my comfort, and her open sweetness of expression, 
won and fixed my heart. She did not talk much, but 
her conversational ' powers were developing ; and in a 
recent visit to Cleveland and Pittsburg with her 
parents, her sister Elizabeth, and other friends, I was 
much pleased with her whole behavior. Indeed, her 
whole life has been one of pleasure to me. That 
sweet and serene and ever-cheerful countenance ; the 
morning and evening kiss — oh, I never can cease to 
cherish the memory of this dear, sweet child ! But, 
added to all which she received by nature, Divine 
grace had operated upon her heart. She was a rare 
example of youthful sincerity and decorum; her 
walk, during the eight months of her Christian life, 
has been most beautifully consistent." 

How submissively Mr. Crozer resigned himself to 
this sad event we learn from this remark in reference 
to it : " This providence of God is astounding, but, 
dark and frowning as it seems, I wish to cast myself 
on the Redeemer, and to say of my Creator and my 
God, c Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him/ " 

Not anticipating the need of a place of burial, no 
ground had been laid out in the neighborhood of the 



156 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZER. 

new church at Upland for such a purpose. On 
Monday evening, as the day was fading into night, 
the sorrowing family repaired to the grounds that 
were to be devoted to a cemetery, and there selected a 
beautiful knoll, where the remains of the loved one 
should be placed. On Wednesday afternoon, Sep- 
tember 1st, 1852, the funeral service took place, 
calling together as large an assembly as had ever , 
gathered on a funeral occasion in the county. Rev. 
Dr. Howard Malcom, and other ministers took part 
in the solemn services at the church, and Bishop 
Potter used at the grave an appropriate portion of the 
Episcopal service for the dead. The occasion was one 
of great solemnity. 

Immediately after the burial, Mr. Crozer began to 
enclose with a wall the ground lie had now set apart 
as a place of burial. He said, he should take a mel- 
ancholy pleasure in preparing and beautifying it, 
"chiefly on account of its being the resting-place of 
my Sallie; and in addition to this, I mark it as the 
resting-place of myself and most that are dear to me 
on earth. AVe shall, one by one, sleep there, to wake 
no more till the resurrection ; for a resurrection 
Christ has declared to be forthcoming, both for the 
just and for the unjust. Oh, may I and mine be of 
the resurrection of the just !" 

A fortnight after the death of his daughter, Mr. 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 157 

Crozer made the following entry in his diary : " I 
think I have felt her loss more last evening and to- 
day than ever before. Oh, the sinking of spirits and 
the feeling of desolateness which occasionally come 
over me ! For the first time, I found to-day a slight 
disposition to murmur and say, 'O Lord, why didst 
thou do it?' Oh, may I be kept from such a frame 
of mind ! From every rebellious thought, O Lord, 
deliver me." 

But this extreme sorrow and mourning was soon 
turned into joy and gladness. The death of the 
daughter had been blessed to the spiritual good of 
his first-born son, for whose conversion he had 
wrestled in prayer with strong crying and tears. Mr. 
Cro?er says : " I had mourned dear Sallied loss, as one 
ever ready to sympathize with me in our church 
affairs, and now a merciful God has raised up a strong 
arm to aid me in my son. I feel that he is a host 
on the Lord's side. O my Lord and my God, how 
unsearchable are thy ways ! How mysterious to 
short-sighted man ! Thus joy is mingled with sor- 
row; weeping may endure for a night, but joy 
cometh in the morning." 

In the closing part of this year, in speaking of 
some doubts that had crossed and darkened his mind, 
he says : " Oh that I could, with the simplicity of a 
child, lie at the feet of Jesus, and learn of him who 

14 



158 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEE. 

was meek and lowly of heart ! Oh that I could live 
in deep humility and drink of the wells of salvation ; 
my will lost in the Divine will, and waiting all the 
days of my appointed time, until the change, the 
great change, comes !" 

The review which Mr. Crozer made on his birth- 
day in 1853 relates mainly to the church at Upland, 
the completion of the edifice, the organization of the 
church, and the additions by baptism. His deceased 
daughter had looked forward with deep interest to 
the time when the desire of her father's heart would 
be gratified in the formation of a church ; and on the 
arrival of the time for its organization Mr. Crozer 
deeply mourned her absence. But in her place came 
his beloved wife, who, he says : " early lent a kind 
aid to sustain her husband." The church was or- 
ganized with twenty members; and immediately after 
its organization baptisms followed, and a few were 
added by letter ; so that, at the time this review was 
made, the church was composed of more than forty 
members, and there were some inquirers. Some of 
those baptized were, brought to think of their spiritual 
necessities by the sudden death of Miss Crozer, and 
among them were his son Samuel and several cousins. 
Referring to the fact that the church had a pastor, the 
Rev. John Duncan, and had been increased by the bap- 
tism of his sons Samuel and Lewis and their cousins, 



LIFE OF JOHN P. C1ZOZEB. 159 

with others, he says : "These are themes of rejoicing 
and thankfulness * but the thought of the absent one 
steals over my mind with its chilling influence. And 
yet how much we are blessed ! — the wife of my bosom 
a Christian; my two daughters more than usually 
active in Christian benevolence and good deeds ; 
Samuel and Lewis also professors, and desirous to do 
good." Of himself, on this birthday, he says he 
feels more deeply impressed than on any previous 
occasion, that his sixty-first year may prove his last 
on earth: "The grave itself looks less lonely near 
the church of my household and by the side of my 
daughter than when I thought of it, even in that 
beautifully retired spot I had selected in the Middle- 
town Cemetery." 

One of Mr. Crozer^s methods of provoking others 
to good works was to agree to give for some benevo- 
lent enterprise a large sum, on condition that a 
certain other sum was first subscribed. In February, 
1853, there is a minute of such an offer, in which he 
proposed a donation for the endowment of a new 
professorship in the University at Lewisburg, making 
his donation conditional on the sum of twenty-five 
thousand dollars being raised. His proposition was 
promptly responded to by the gift of twelve thousand 
five hundred dollars from Dr. David Jayne, and five 
thousand dollars from Mr. "William Bucknell, Mr. 



160 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

Crozer contributing the balance. The professorship 
was established, and has ever since been accomplish- 
ing its work of usefulness. 

Mr. Crozer, having a widely-spread reputation for 
wealth and benevolence, was often applied to for aid. 
The wealthy and those who have the reputation of 
being benevolent will sympathize with him in the 
minute he makes in his diary on this topic : " Per- 
petual duns are unpleasant, yet one must submit to 
them. And on the disappointment of the solicitor, 
occasionally, nay frequently, unkind remarks are made 
— although not in one's presence — because of the 
small sums given." Ten years later, in connection 
with an entry of the fact that he had just given one 
thousand dollars to the Freedmen's Relief Association 
for the suffering blacks, one thousand to the American 
Baptist Missionary Union, two hundred and fifty to 
the American Baptist Home Mission Society, and 
smaller sums to existing institutions, he says: " Ap- 
plications are so frequent that my patience is often 
tried, and I fear I am sometimes abrupt. This ought 
not to be." To this condemnation of himself, how- 
ever, his friends would hardly subscribe. Few men 
gave with such readiness as he, and fewer still could 
more courteously though firmly decline when declina- 
ture was necessary. 

In December of this year Mr. Crozer visited the 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. lfil 

factories at West Branch and Crozerville, for the first 
time in many months, and having become familiar 
with the more spacious buildings at Upland, was 
impressed with the contrast : " The old mill," he says, 
" looked small and rough ; and I can hardly realize 
that the little, low-ceiling room which I was in to- 
day was in reality the same — formerly my card-room, 
where I had spent so many weary and tedious 
hours at the cards- — where I had toiled through long, 
anxious days and evenings — where I had figured and 
calculated until both mind and body were so absorbed 
that I could neither talk nor think of anything else. 
This incessant toil was indeed the foundation of my 
fortune, and enabled me to surmount many serious 
difficulties ; but on the other hand it contracted my 
mind, stifled the relish I once had for literary pur- 
suits, gave me a distaste for study and in a measure 
for society too, and I think made me less useful. I 
gained one point, it is true : I became a man of for- 
tune, and now it becomes me to use that fortune as a 
means of good." 

Whenever the fact of his large possessions was 
presented to his mind, there came along with it the 
thought of his stewardship ; hence this record made, 
December 30, 1854 : " My mind is a good deal engaged 
as to what I shall do with my gains. I shall not 
pull down my barns and build greater, wherein to 

14* L 



162 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEE. 

bestow my goods. I shall not say to my soul, i Soul, 
thou hast much goods laid up for many years/ but 
in God's strength I shall cast around me to be highly 
useful. I feel it my duty, and shall pray for strength 
to discharge this duty — to give all future increase of 
my fortune to acts of benevolence. O God, give me, I 
pray thee, wisdom and decision of mind to carry out 
my resolution in a manner which may promote thy 
glory and the happiness of my fellow-creatures." 

When, in January, 1855, the balance-sheet of the 
previous year's business was laid before him, he says : 
" Wealth flows in from all sources. I feel, as often 
before in making up my yearly accounts, oppressed 
with the responsibility of my stewardship. I am 
indeed perplexed how I shall use, as I ought to, the 
great and increasing stores of wealth which God has 
bestowed upon me." The next month he says : " My 
exercise of mind now is (and I wish to deepen the 
exercise), how shall I best employ time and fortune to 
advance the good of my fellows ? God has not en- 
dowed me with the great talents of Wilberforce and 
Jay, of whom I have just been reading. I cannot 
attract attention in the senate or in the pulpit. My 
talent is of a more sordid character — to accumulate 
wealth. And I thank God that I have, as I trust, 
an increasing desire to employ that wealth in doing 
good." When, on his birthday in 1855, he repeated 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 163 

his resolution to appropriate to acts of benevolence 
and charity his future gains, he says : " I feel that 
this important resolution is surrounded with many 
difficulties ; and that of selecting the proper objects 
of benevolence will not be the least. My feelings 
are not much inclined toward building churches or 
contributing largely toward them, and yet I am 
aware that importunities will be pressing in this line ; 
and I have already found that the man who gives a 
good deal will disappoint very many, as he will have 
to encounter the unreasonable expectations of many 
applicants." 

In allusion to the fact that he had fixed on no plan 
of action in the matter of giving away his increase, 
he utters this prayer : " O God, my heavenly Father ! 
oh, for my Saviour's sake, turn my affections more 
toward thee, and enable me to keep thy glory 
steadily in view during the residue of my pilgrimage ! 
Keep me, oh keep me, from selfishness! Give me 
firm purposes of mind, so that I may, in the evening 
of my days, do more for my race than I have done 
through my threescore years, which have departed to 
return no more for ever !" 

In November, 1855, having read the life of Amos 
Lawrence, of Boston, who had given in charity 
so largely, Mr. Crozer says : " I am within less than 
five years of being as old as Mr. Lawrence was 



164 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZER. 

at his death. Am I doing my duty ? is an inquiry 
worth my serious attention. I have but recently 
become rich ; but there is the more cause for greater 
activity in doing good. I will stir myself while life 
and health are spared." 

Under the influence of such feelings as these he 
was directed in his thoughts to the University at 
Lewisburg. He had long entertained the opinion 
that this university would accomplish a larger useful- 
ness if located in the vicinity of Philadelphia; that, 
while it was geographically more central at Lewis- 
burg, it would be far more accessible to all portions 
of the State if it were removed to a location toward 
which the interests of the State naturally tended, and 
upon which a stronger Baptist influence could be con- 
centrated. He therefore proposed to its Board of 
Trustees, at their annual meeting in July, 1856, to 
endow the university additionally in the sum of fifty 
thousand dollars, on condition of its removal to the 
vicinity of Philadelphia. This noble offer was de- 
clined. In the light of all which was then known 
by the Board, it is believed it was unwisely declined ; 
but in the light of what is now known, and in view 
of the contemplated change whereby the theological 
work of the university may probably be transferred 
to Upland, it may be questioned if their action 
has not resulted in good. That is a merciful Provi- 






LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZEB. 165 

dence which presides over the mistakes of men, and 
directs our action, even when it errs, to the accom- 
plishment of future good. Mr. Crozer acquiesced 
pleasantly in the decision of the Board. He was too 
kind a man to desire the removal unless it could be 
accomplished harmoniously. He returned from the 
meeting at Lewisburg richer by fifty thousand dollars 
than he went, yet deeply regretting the loss of an 
opportunity to carry out the resolutions which, in his 
Master's strength, he had formed — of larger pecuniary 
usefulness. 

About this time he made this entry in regard to 
giving : " I love to give ; must set a guard over my- 
self, lest the good designed be lost in the luxury of 
giving. I love to make money almost as well as a 
miser; and I love to give it away for charitable pur- 
poses, I think, as well as most men. I formerly felt, 
sometimes, a shade of passing regret after parting 
with my money; but such feelings have long since 
passed away; and it is now unmingled pleasure and 
calmness. God grant that, during the residue of my 
life, I may continue to possess a warm heart and an 
open hand ; and that I may be able to exercise discre- 
tion and judgment in my donations!" 

A few days after this, when glancing again over 
the lives of Wilberforce and Howard, he says : " Won- 
derful men in their respective spheres of action ! My 



166 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEB. 

soul is borne down with a sense of my own useless- 
ness. They were laymen like myself, but effected 
wonders. I have not the position, the education, the 
eloquence of "Wilberforce, or his talent; but I, per- 
haps, have fully as much intellectual force as Howard, 
and might do something with my talent and fortune 
combined. But my days are hastening away, and I 
am doing almost nothing for my fellow-men." 

In the spring of 1857 he speaks of a large expendi- 
ture, for which he finds ample compensation in the 
hope that it will prove a benefit to his fellow-men. 
He refers, no doubt, to plans he had formed for the 
erection of a Lyceum at Upland, and of his normal 
school — an enterprise which he had now begun, and 
which he describes more fully as it approaches its 
completion. 

Just before commencing this work of usefulness, we 
find him writing in his diary : " Oh that I may be 
enabled, by my long-suffering and forbearing Lord 
and Master, to double my diligence to make my own 
calling and election sure, and to expend my large 
pecuniary means for the good of my fellow-creatures, 
and to feel deeply the high responsibility of my 
stewardship ! I want to be like Jesus, the spot- 
less Lamb of God. I want to go to him, as a little 
child to an earthly parent, and lay all my earthly 
cares before him. I will cast myself into his arms 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 167 

renewedly, for all my hopes are in his precious 
name." 

There are found scattered, through both his diary 
and his letters during the last twenty years of his 
life, expressions similar in import to the above. The 
Lord Jesus was evidently drawing his servant nearer 
to himself. He was led, as frequently the disciples 
of Christ are, to a deeper and fuller appreciation of 
the glory of his character and the riches of his grace. 
The name of Jesus was coming to be daily more 
precious to him. Insensibly perhaps to himself, but 
very noticeably in his writings, he came to speak of 
his Lord more and more by his personal name. On 
a review of the records which he made during these 
later years, we see that the strong expressions of per- 
sonal feeling toward Jesus, which marked his dying 
hours, are the result of no sudden impulse: they fol- 
low naturally from the nearer and more endearing 
fellowship with his gracious Lord into which he had 
been gradually drawn. 

How busy Mr. Crozer was in doing good to his 
fellow-men, we can infer from an entry in his diary, 
which describes the work of a single day : " Meeting 
of Business Committee of Media Institution for Fee- 
ble-minded Children, and the settlement of contrac- 
tor's account. Then, noon-day prayer-meeting ; and I 
have, I think, never been present at a more stirring 



168 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZER. 



and edifying prayer-meeting. The room quite full, 
and a diyine influence seemed manifest. Many hearts 
melted, many souls were devoutly engaged. I felt that 
it was good to be there. In the afternoon at four 
o'clock, Board of Colonization Society. I had notice 
to attend an important committee meeting at Sunday 
School Union, at the same hour ; also a meeting of the 
Children's Home Trustees, at the same hour; and of 
the Pennsylvania Baptist Convention at three o'clock. 
All the latter I had to miss." 

Three days later he says : " I have given away 
pretty largely to many objects, and I think I am 
really desirous to add to them, both in variety and 
amount, as cases present themselves for action which 
I think of the right kind. But in these gifts I find 
discrimination an essential clement ; and consequently 
must disappoint many applicants." He closes the 
mention of this subject with the prayer: "O my 
Lord, enable me to make some amends for the sad 
waste of my time and talents. May I burn, as it 
were, to do good. Lead me to objects of usefulness ; 
make me an instrument in thy hands to glorify thee 
in my humble way, in doing good to thy creatures on 
earth. I fervently entreat thee, O my heavenly 
Father, to pity and forgive, for Christ's sake, my 
weight of sins, both of commission and omission." 

Mr. Crozer was a devout worshiper, and gave 






LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZER. 169 

earnest heed to proprieties which should be always 
observed by members of a Christian congregation. 
On the subject of singing as an act of public worship, 
his mind was exercised, as the minds of many sincere 
Christians have been. In relation to those who lead 
he says : " Singing in places of devotion is designed 
as worship ; and should, I think, be the act of real 
worshipers. I would not exclude all others, but such 
only should take the lead ; such only should have the 
responsibility. Singing also, when well performed, 
has a happy influence in calming the mind and sooth- 
ing each ruffled passion ; and thus, with its softening 
influence, prepares the heart for the preaching of the 
word and the reception of divine truth." 

The employment of professional singers, such as 
appear in the opera house, to lead the worship of a 
Christian congregation, was offensive to his sensitive 
and devout mind; and in that particular he repre- 
sents a very large body of the followers of Jesus. 
Praise is as much an act of worship as prayer ; and 
no Christian would think of calling on an uncon- 
verted person to lead a congregation in prayer. 

Mr. Crozer was conscientious in the performance 
of his religious duties, and did not enter upon them 
unthinkingly or without preparation. As the teacher 
of a class in Sunday-school and as a superintendent 
he not only made careful preparation by study, but 

15 



170 LIFE OF JOHN F. CEOZEB. 

he sought divine direction in his closet. It was his 
aim to prepare himself for the coming of the Lord's 
Day by reading appropriate books and bringing his 
mind into right trains of thought and feeling. It 
was not easy for him to dismiss any subject from his 
mind which had earnestly engaged his attention; a 
fact that he greatly deplored, but which was insepa- 
rable from a certain tenacity of purpose to which he 
was greatly indebted for his success. Here is an 
entry made on a Saturday evening preceding a com- 
munion Sunday : " This afternoon I have been reading 
Bickersteth on Communion, and endeavoring to pre- 
pare my mind a little for the solemnities of the 
morrow. I wish not to come thoughtlessly to the 
Lord's table. I would 'examine myself, and so eat of 
that bread and drink of that cup.' " We find here 
and there an entry like this: " To-morrow is our 
communion season. I wish to make some preparation 
for the solemn occasion." On a communion day in 
autumn he made this minute in his diary : " The fall 
of the leaf; a day rather cloudy and gloomy; the 

smallness of my family since the B ? s have left 

us ; reflections upon days long since gone ; a visit to 
the grave of my dear Sallie, and other loved ones in 
the same church-yard, — all these have cast a deep 
thoughtfulness over my mind, approaching to sadness, 
yet I regret it not. Reflection thus induced tends to 









LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 171 

soften the heart and weaken worldly influences. I 
wish this afternoon to direct my mind to topics of 
thought which will cherish emotion and enable me to 
contemplate the wondrous love and condescension of 
this 6 dear dying Christ' whose suffering I have this 
day with our little church been commemorating. Oh, 
this amazing condescension ! incredible ! Yet I be- 
lieve; O my God/ help my unbelief! In the face of 
that revelation, which I cannot doubt, the sacrifice 
seems so great that my faith staggers under the 
overwhelming thought. O my God, strengthen this 
faith ! I adore that w T ondrous love to puny creatures 
such as I am. It is beyond conception wondrous. 
O Christ ! 

" ( My faith would lay her hand 
On that dear head of thine.' " 

Allusion has already been made to the purpose of 
Mr. Crozer to found an institution of learning for the 
benefit of the youth in his native county. At one 
time his brethren of another denomination proposed 
establishing a college at Chester, and he was invited 
to join in the enterprise. He entertained the proposi- 
tion ; but when, on examination, he saw that the 
institution would be conducted in the interests of 
those who were, to use his words, " not always 
friendly to his own denomination," he declined to 
participate in the project. Seeing no other way to 



172 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

carry out his views, he designed a school of high 
grade at Upland, and for the purposes of the institu- 
tion erected a large and commodious building at the 
cost of forty-five thousand dollars, on an eminence 
south of what had now grown to be the thriving 
village of Upland. 

This enterprise was one which he had long con- 
templated, and he Avas exceedingly anxious that the 
plan of the institution should be wisely laid and 
energetically carried out. He sought counsel on this 
subject from the venerable Dr. Way land, whose long 
and successful administration as President of Brown 
University pre-eminently fitted him to advise. The 
letters which passed between them possess a perma- 
nent interest : 

"Upland, April 8, 1858. 
"Rev. F. Wayland, D. D : 

" Dear Sir : — Our acquaintance is but slight, yet 
I presume you will not consider me intrusive in 
asking some advice of you, who have made education 
a subject of so much thought and study. 

"I am erecting a building for educational purposes, 
capable of receiving over one hundred boarding 
students, beside the household attendants, &c. The 
instruction and lecture-rooms are suited for double 
that number. The building and grounds will cost 






> 
o 




LIFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE. 173 



the institution with the balance of one hundred thou- 
sand dollars (say, fifty-five thousand dollars) certainly ; 
probably much more, if my life is spared and the 
school shall promise great usefulness. 

"Now, How shall I shape this institution to be 
most useful to this my native neighborhood and to 
the community generally ? is the question I desire to 
submit to you. My mind leans strongly to a school 
of more popular character than a university — some- 
thing of the nature of a high school, with a normal 
department, and for both sexes. Our common-school 
teachers in this vicinity are often sadly deficient. I 
desire it to be an institution where a thorough educa- 
tion can be had for practical or business life, but the 
I dead languages not to have undue prominence. 

" I wish to have the school open in the autumn ; 
and it is therefore now time to determine its character. 
One thing especially embarasses me, viz. : how to 
secure a permanent religious element, for I have not 
thought of giving it a denominational character or 
bias. 

"The foregoing will give you some idea of my 
position in this enterprise ; and any advice or sugges- 
tion will much oblige me. 

"Yours respectfully, 

"John P. Crozer." 

15 * 



174 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 

" Providence, April 12, 1858. 

"My Deae Sie: — Your favor of April 8th has 
just reached me. I will offer a few suggestions on 
the subject which occur to me. 

" Your views of this subject correspond very much 
with my own. I see very clearly the defect of ordinary 
college education. It is, from its character, limited to 
a very small class, and really affects hardly any but 
those entering what is called the professions. It has 
no place really for merchants, manufacturers, mechan- 
ics, and men of business generally. It absorbs so 
much time in the study of what they do not want, 
and gives so little time to what they want, that they 
will not take the course. An institution such as you 
propose is calculated to accomplish great good. The 
normal department I consider of great value. 

u The general character of the school is, however, in 
many respects already fixed by the buildings, which, 
you write, are approaching completion. The union 
of the sexes in a school of this kind is a feature 
with which I have no practical acquaintance. It was 
done when I was a boy ; but, as I remember, with 
some disadvantages. 

"You ask what shall be done to maintain the 
religious character of the institution? This is the 
most difficult thing in all the undertaking. It creates 
the great danger of all our institutions of learning. 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 175 

I know the difficulty in a college ; but what it would 
be, or how best guarded against, in an institution 
such as yours, I should hardly dare advise. A sen- 
sible, practical teacher, who had done the work him- 
self, could best decide. 

"The difficulty is simply this : Young persons at 
the age of your people require the most restraint and 
are the most unwilling to submit to it; and too 
frequently their parents take sides with them. The 
ever-increasing temptations render the danger more 
and more pressing. Much depends on the selection 
of the right man to organize the school and give it 
its first bias. In this, I trust, the good Lord will 
direct you. He who has put it into your heart to do 
this thing has, I doubt not, been preparing the means 
to aid you in carrying it to perfection. May he 
direct and guide and bless you in it ! I am, 
"My dear brother, 

" Yours truly, 

"F. "Wayland. 
" J. P. Ckozer, Esq." 

As the time approached for opening the school, he 
says : " I feel deeply solicitous. I hope I have done 
right, but sometimes feel that I have not taken the 
best measures. Yet I cannot but trust that all will 
prove well. I shall try to commit all to my Lord 
and Master, and seek his guidance. 



176 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZER, 

The school was duly opened on the completion of 
the edifice in September, 1858. The design, as set 
forth by its founder, was, "to furnish at a reduced 
cost a comprehensive, thorough, and practical educa- 
tion for business, teaching, college, and any literary 
or professional pursuit." As an institution, it was 
eminently worthy ; but from the first it became a 
source of anxiety to its founder. The scarlet fever in 
a malignant form appeared among the pupils and 
scattered them. It was subsequently visited by the 
small-pox, and the work of instruction for a second 
time was suspended. When these calamities had 
passed, and the institution was again in operation, 
there was found to be much difficulty in obtaining 
suitable instructors. Besides all this, the enterprise 
foiled to meet the expectations of Mr. Crozer as a 
scheme of benevolence. It was expensively conducted 
as a means of usefulness, but its advantages were 
enjoyed mainly by those who could not be regarded 
as objects of benevolence. It was highly appreciated, 
not only for its worth, but also for its cheapness. 
And its founder began to feel that his purpose of 
benevolence was at fault. But he had builded wiser 
than he knew, as the sequel will disclose. And the 
subsequent history of this spacious edifice, when it was 
crowded with the sick and wounded of our patriot 
soldiery, and its final consecration as a " school of the 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE. 177 

prophets/' will amply confirm the opinion that the 
same benignant Providence which had enkindled in 
his heart the desire for usefulness was now presiding 
over its results. 

In answering his oft-repeated and earnest prayer to 
be led to some sphere of greater usefulness, the Lord 
caused his attention to be directed to the work of 
ministerial education. The growth of his interest in 
this subject is briefly exhibited in an extract from a 
letter, written by the Rev. G. M. Spratt, Correspond- 
ing Secretary of the Pennsylvania Baptist Education 
Society : 

"My first interview with Mr. Crozer was in the 
month of October, 1851. "We had some conversation^ 
in which he frankly stated some objections to my mis- 
sion ; and, at the same time, earnestly pressed me to 
pay him a visit for the purpose of giving him fuller 
information. Accordingly, a few weeks after this, I 
had a pleasant and profitable interview with him at 
his residence. 

"His mind seemed absorbed in the one theme — the 
Baptist churches and the ministry of the State. On 
my remarking, that we had a pious and devoted min- 
istry, but needed also men of liberal culture for pro- 
minent points of influence, he quickly caught the idea 
and remarked : ' Then you would propose to increase 
the growth of the denomination by preparing young 

M 



178 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZER. 

men to occupy these strong points. Well, I see no 
objection to the measure, provided you secure the 
right kind of young men. But everything must 
depend upon their being pious and devoted/ 

" In a few days he forwarded to our treasurer one 
hundred dollars. The next year, on my calling on 
him, he remarked: 'It is my design to take hold of 
this work in earnest. I see good in it/ It is need- 
less to add that from this period until the year of his 
death he manifested deep interest in the cause of 
ministerial education. 

"In the year 1852, he was elected a vice-president 
of the society. In 1855, he became its president. 
One fact may here be noticed. Owing to his great 
reluctance to appear in a prominent position, it was 
sometimes impossible to secure his presence and action 
at the annual meetings. But at the meetings of 
the Board he was seldom, if ever, either absent or 
tardy. 

"At these meetings his counsel was invaluable, and 
the advice and exhortations given to beneficiaries on 
their admission were peculiarly impressive. The 
subject-matter was well thought out, and delivered 
with evident emotion and great spirituality of mind. 

" So intense was his interest in ministerial students, 
he could not rest satisfied with ordinary and general 
statements. He wanted details. On several occa- 






LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 179 

sion^, after writing a full sheet, and then apologizing 
for its undue length, I have received the reply, f Do 
not fear taxing my patience by minute details. You 
will tax my patience much more by not giving them. 
I want all these incidents. They go to make up 
character. Please do not be sparing in letting me 
know how each beneficiary is advancing, both in 
spiritual and intellectual pursuits/ From time to 
time he wrote such sentences as the following : 
1 My heart is in this good work. I am glad you are 
succeeding as well as you are. It must be a work of 
time. The results will be glorious/ I might thus 
quote from scores of letters. 

"Mr. Crozer's benevolent regard for the students 
did not flow simply w x ithin the channels of an organ- 
ized society. On many occasions he privately relieved 
the pressing wants of those who were needy. He 
insisted that I should keep him informed of their 
wants ; and would often, unsolicited, send me sums of 
money to be disbursed according to my judgment. 
With the report of such expenditures he was always 
pleased." 

During the period of his connection with the 
society he endowed seven scholarships of fifteen 
hundred dollars each, making an aggregate of ten 
thousand five hundred dollars, in addition to his other 
contributions to this work. 



180 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEB. 

Among the many charities which claimed his 
attention and received his generous aid, was the 
" Pennsylvania Training School for Feeble-minded 
Children." Perhaps no class of our suffering fellow- 
creatures have been more sadly neglected than the 
unfortunate children who come within the scope of 
this noble charity. It is not surprising that, with 
his tender and sympathizing nature, he should have 
become deeply interested in the welfare of such an 
institution, or that from an early period of its history 
his name should have been associated with its pro- 
gress. His diary abounds in evidences of the deep 
interest which he cherished in its welfare. He de- 
voted much time and money to the accomplishment 
of its objects. As early as 1860 his donations to it 
had reached the sum of $10,000. He was a faithful 
working member of its Board; and on the death of 
its president, the lamented Bishop Potter, Mr. Crozer 
was elected his successor. 

Some years before the close of his life Mr. Crozer 
resigned his place as teacher in the Sunday school — a 
place which he had held for over thirty years — but 
continued to act as superintendent. Eighteen months 
after the change he made this entry in his diary : " I 
desire to feel thankful that I have persevered, under 
many discouragements, to preside as superintendent; 
for although I have no evidence of personal useful- 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 181 

ness in the recent cases of conversion, yet I do feel 
that my unwearied perseverance as superintendent has 
had a general good influence on teachers and also on 
learners. To-day we had nine baptized, seven of 
whom were from the Sunday-school, and the interest 
still continues. The hand of God is in the work/'' 

The congregation at the house of worship erected 
by Mr. Crozer at Upland increased so much that in 
1861 the building was found to be quite too small, 
and Mr. Crozer enlarged its capacity at an expense to 
himself of about eight thousand dollars. The re- 
dedication of the house was an occasion of very deep 
interest to him and to his family. 

When the murmurs of Southern discontent were 
followed by the rumbling of war, Mr. Crozer was 
oppressed in spirit. He w T as a lover of peace — a 
hater of war and bloodshed. He had always re- 
garded slavery as a stain upon the flag; in political 
economy, a blunder; in morals and religion, a wrong. 
With the spirit which could countenance and defend 
it, he had nothing in common. To the idea of its 
further extension, he was firmly opposed; but, in com- 
mon with most of his brethren at the North, he had 
regarded it as sectional and not national — an evil which 
must be left to the action of the States in which it 
unhappily existed. Hence he favored all proper con- 
ciliation and forbearance, but not to the stifling of free 

16 



182 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

discussion or the suppression of the truth. He would 
have said with Whittier : 

" Hold, while ye niay, your struggling slaves, and burden God's 

free air 
With woman's shriek beneath the lash, and manhood's wild 

despair ; 
Cling closer to the cleaving curse that writes upon your plains 
The blasting of Almighty wrath against a land of chains!" 

And with Whittier he would have added : 

u We wage no war — we lift no arm — we fling no torch within 
The fire-damps of the quaking mine beneath your soil of sin. 
We leaveyou with your bondmen, to struggle while ye can 
With the strong upward tendencies and God-like soul of man." 

He had hoped that this fruitful cause of dis- 
sension might have passed away without a disrup- 
tion of the ties which bound the States in union. 
Believing with Edmund Burke, that "It is supreme 
necessity alone — a necessity that is not chosen, but 
chooses — a necessity paramount to deliberation, that 
admits no discussion and demands no evidence — which 
can alone justify a resort to anarchy/' he could 
hardly believe that the South would enter upon hos- 
tilities in the bad cause of chattel slavery. No such 
necessity existed. They had suffered neither in per- 
son nor estate. The person of a Southern man was 
as safe in Boston as in Charleston. His cotton had 
never brought him larger profits; and even his slave 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZE R. 183 

was daily increasing in his market value. No iron 
had entered his soul, and there was no justification for 
resort to that last and most terrible of ordeals. 

Educated in the love of the republic, and taught 
from the Scriptures his duty of obedience to the civil 
government, he regarded rebellion as a crime involv- 
ing anarchy. Much as he loved peace, strongly as 
he had hoped that never again, in this country, 
should we incur the calamities of war; yet, when the 
nation's property w T as seized by force, when hostile 
batteries were opened upon a national fort, he felt 
that there was no escape — that force must be met by 
force, and disobedient wickedness subdued. In the 
fearful conflict which ensued he stood firmly, from the 
first, by the cause of his country. He invested largely 
in the national loan in that early period of the war 
when such an investment was a test of patriotism. 
His spacious building, which had been erected for a 
normal school, he placed at the disposal of the 
government for a hospital, at a time when every inch 
of room was needed for the sick and wounded of our 
suffering army. He contributed to the raising of 
troops in the county, and risked that largest venture 
of a father's heart — a son to command them.* He 
himself remained at home to labor in a work of no less 
importance — the work of the Christian Commission. 
* Captain George K. Crozer. 



184 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZE R. 

Of this institution he was one of the founders. In 
company with Mr. George H. Stuart, he was ap- 
pointed to represent the city of Philadelphia at 
that meeting in New York, November 14, 1861, at 
which the Commission was originated. From Sep- 
tember, 1862, to the end of the struggle, he was a 
working member of its executive committee. He 
was one of the few men who, from the first, enter- 
tained no doubt of its success. His uniform cheerful- 
ness and firmness, even in the dark days of its early 
historv, did much to strengthen and encourage others. 
Many a soldier, whose wounds were dressed, whose 
fevered lips were moistened, upon whose ear the 
words of Christian consolation fell like sweetest 
music, was indebted to the cheerful courage and the 
manly firmness of this unwavering friend of the 
Commission. 

He was not only a faithful laborer in the work of 
the Commission, but a very generous contributor to 
its funds. On one occasion, when the Commission 
held its memorable meeting in the Church of the 
Epiphany, he subscribed five thousand dollars; and 
four members of his family, fourteen hundred more. 
The sum of his contributions to the cause of his coun- 
try during the war, including amounts to the Chris- 
tian Commission, donations to various hospitals, 
moneys for the raising of troops, and subscriptions for 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZEE. 185 

the suffering freedmen, were hardly less than twenty 
thousand dollars. To the Commission alone, he gave 
the sum of ten thousand five hundred dollars, aside 
from the subscriptions of his family. 

The desire to be useful, which Mr. Crozer so often 
expressed in the last twenty years of his life, was 
intensified with advancing age. One autumn evening, 
while walking his piazza, and looking out on the 
beautiful scenery that surrounded his Upland home, 
the falling leaf with its variegated hues attracted his 
notice, and the fading glory of forest and glade sent 
his thoughts retrospecting over days and years long 
since gone by, he says : " I need such reflections to 
remind me that I am now an old man on the verge 
of eternity, and to make me more active in my age to 
glorify my Lord and Master. Oh, that this feeling 
would not leave me for one hour while I remain on 
earth!" 

To his daughter, Mrs. Benjamin Griffith, he wrote 
on his birthday, in 1862, the following letter, which 
will aptly illustrate the character of his communica- 
tions to his children, while, at the same time, it 
indicates the ordinary tone of his reflections at this 
period : 

"Upland, January 13, 1862. 
"My Dear Daughter Libbie: — This is my 
birthday. To-day I complete the allotted time for 

16 * 



186 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

man on earth — threescore and ten years ; and, 
though my health is good and my natural force but 
partially abated, it well becomes me to pause and 
meditate over the past, and to look upon what future 
time the Almighty may allot to me on earth as a kind 
of extra allowance — a special dispensation, for which 
I am increasedly responsible to him. 

"Your father has been highly blessed in life. 
Blessed with a pious and devoted mother; with a 
most excellent constitution of body ; with a mind not 
below, perhaps rather above, mediocrity ; with a fair 
moral training in early religious impressions — which, 
alas ! for very many years of my life were partially set 
aside — which have ended as I trust in sincere love to 
God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ — yet often 
with many doubts and conflicts. Blessed, too, in 
habits of industry and untiring application, scarcely 
surpassed by any. Blessed in the results of this 
industry, aided as it was by the gift of a sound and 
discriminating judgment in business matters, which 
has resulted in a large accumulation of property. 

" If I know myself at all, I feel thankful for these 
gifts, and do feel them as gifts of my heavenly 
Father, attended, especially the last mentioned, with 
a solemn and awful responsibility, which sometimes 
oppresses me. 

"But I have far higher earthly blessings to record. 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZEE. 187 

The foremost of these is your precious mother. My 
habits of life, as you know, are domestic ; and my 
highest enjoyments have ever been in the bosom of 
my family. The kind and affectionate welcome and 
tender sympathies and embraces of this loved one 
have been the solace of my life. 

" I should be most ungrateful if I failed to esteem 
her the choicest gift which the Almighty has bestowed 
upon me, Truly, all other earthly blessings sink into 
insignificance compared with this. 

"And in my dear children, one and all, oh, how 
am I blessed ! how may I rejoice that all of you 
have, as I trust, given yourselves to the Saviour ! 
that you are all conscientious and exemplary in life ! 
Ambition may have prompted me to desire that my 
sons should fill more conspicuous places in society. 
But such desire, when it presents itself, soon yields to 
the reflection that they are correct and respectable 
young men, and useful in their calling, and in all 
probability may— some of them, at least — occupy 
more useful places in life than their father has done. 

"But I can readily yield every ambitious desire 
for the hope that my children are Christians, sincere 
Christians. You will see from the foregoing, my 
dear daughter, the tone and character of my reflec- 
tions on this my birthday. My heart is much drawn 
out in love to my dear family. I have made no 



188 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE, 

reference to my grandchildren; yet I find myself 
becoming more and more attached to them as years 
increase and as I near my end. 

"A full heart to-day would dictate a longer letter, 
but I close with the prayer — the prayer of a devoted 
father — that you and yours may be blessed in life as 
I have been and still am, It would be almost sinful 
to wish for you greater blessings than these. 
" Your affectionate father, 

" John P. Crozer." 

Another letter, which he sent to his daughter, Mrs. 
W. Bucknell, in the following year, will be found 
interesting, as it shows his care for the usefulness 
of his children. It is also interesting from the 
statements of his own later views of practical 
benevolence : 

"Upland, June 8, 1863. 

" My Dear Daughter Maggie : — My desire is 
to have you highly useful ; and as pecuniary means 
add greatly to one's ability to do good, I commit to 
you now, while I am living, a considerable part of 
what would be your portion after my decease. 

" I will not dictate to you how your income shall be 
disposed of. A disposition prevails pretty generally 
in the religious community, especially amongst pious 
ladies, to give largely for the erection of church 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZER. 189 

edifices and the support of churches and ministers. 
This is all well enough, if not done to the exclusive, 
or even partial, neglect of suffering humanity. 

" Of late years my inclination is towards the poor 
and needy and the afflicted. I wish I could always 
look personally after individual and family cases of 
suffering and want ; but, in the absence of this ability, 
I must work through societies and individuals ; and I 
am thankful, or try to be, that 1 have the means and 
the disposition to do much for physical suffering. 

" All I enjoin on you, my dear child, is that you 
will not suffer your income to accumulate ; yet on the 
other hand that you will not anticipate it by con- 
tracting debts, or making promises in advance of 
your actual receipts. 

" Most affectionately, your father, 

" John P. Ckozer." 

About this time he says : " I am chiefly engaged in 
reading the Sunday-school publications, and feel in- 
creasingly interested in behalf of children. I think 
that efforts to shape the minds of the young are of 
the greatest consequence, and I am deeply desirous to 
do something for their permanent benefit." It was 
under the impulse of this desire, coupled with a wish 
to act somewhat in undenominational modes of use- 
fulness, that he attached himself to the American 



190 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZEB. 

Sunday-school Union. In this society he took the 
same interest, acted with the same energy, and gave 
with the same liberality, that he afterwards manifested 
in the American Baptist Publication Society. When 
he finally resigned his place in the Board, and retired 
from active participation in its affairs, he writes : " I 
love the Sunday-school Union cause, and regret that 
its interests have not abler and wiser advocates." 
His donations and loans to the Sunday-school Union 
amounted to a very large sum. 

In less than three years after he ceased to act with 
the Sunday-school Union, he gave shape to his desire 
to do something for "the permanent benefit" of chil- 
dren by giving to the American Baptist Publication 
Society, in trust, ten thousand dollars in aid of Sun- 
day-school libraries. The gift is known as the " John 
P. Crozer Sunday-school Library Fund." The par- 
ticulars of the gift and its acceptance are taken from 
the records of the society : 

"Upland, February 18, 1864. 

u To the Board of Managers of the American Baptist 
Publication Society: 
" Dear Brethren : — Each succeeding year of my 
life I become more deeply impressed with the import- 
ance of religious effort on behalf of those in child- 
hood and early youth; and as a natural consequence, 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 191 

I wish our Society to devote increased attention to the 
publication and more wide circulation of evangelical 
Sunday-school literature. 

"I think many of the books we circulate, part of 
theni, too, of our own issues, might be dispensed 
with, or substituted by others of a more evangelical 
character. But in the hands of our able Publication 
Committee, I doubt not, a change for the better will 
be kept in progress. 

" I have been much exercised in my own mind as 
to what mode I might best adopt, in order to aid the 
society in effecting good by its labors in the Sunday- 
school work. A decision has finally been made to 
encourage the formation of Sunday-schools in desti- 
tute places, where no such schools have heretofore 
existed, and to aid, to some extent, those which have 
been newly formed. And with this object in view, I 
propose to donate in trust to the American Baptist 
Publication Society, in perpetuity, the sum of 



subject to the following conditions and reservations, 
viz.: 

" This sum of ten thousand dollars is to be invested 
and kept in United States or in Pennsylvania State 
Government loans, or in the funded debt of the city 
of Philadelphia, or in bond and first mortgage on 



192 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

real estate in said city, or in well-secured ground-rents, 
also to be in said city — as may be decided upon and 
approved by any existing Board of Managers at any 
stated meeting of said Board. Such approval, how- 
ever, must have the sanction of two-thirds of the 
members of the Board. The yeas of those voting in 
the affirmative must be so recorded on the minutes. 
Negative votes may also be recorded, if required by 
the Board, or if asked for by the member or members 
casting negative votes. 

" Should the American Baptist Publication Society, 
at any future time, by any regular and legitimate 
proceeding or action, decide to change its name or 
title, or to become united with, or merge into, any 
kindred society of the Baptist denomination engaged 
in a similar work, then this donation may be placed 
under the direction and subject to the control of such 
new arrangement. But the purposes of the donor, as 
herein specified, are to be regarded ; and neither the 
principal sum of ten thousand dollars, nor the income 
or revenue accruing therefrom, is to be directed or 
suffered to flow into any new channel, or for other 
objects than those herein specified. 

"The income, or revenue, which may accrue from 
the investment of this principal sum of ten thousand 
dollars is to form and become a fund for the supply 
of books and publications to new Sunday-schools 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 193 

formed, or in progress of formation, in destitute 
places; and to be equally applicable for schools of 
white and of colored children. 

" All applications for aid, out of this fund, are to 
be disposed of in the usual way by the Board of 
Managers; with this condition, however, that no 
school shall receive the benefit of this fund to a 
greater amount of value than that of the one-hundred- 
volume library issued by the society, and which, until 
recently, was sold for ten dollars. 

"Long experience has confirmed me in the opinion 
that gifts and benefactions are most valued and gene- 
rally more effective when not obtained without some 
cost or effort. I would, therefore, strongly recom- 
mend to this and to all future Boards to require, as a 
general rule, that applicants for aid from this fund 
shall, as a condition, be required to purchase from 
the Depository books equal in value to the amount 
donated. There may, and probably will be, isolated 
cases where a departure from this rule may seem 
desirable; therefore, with the foregoing expression of 
what seems proper as a rule, the donor gives a discre- 
tionary power to the Board. 

" The terms and conditions of this donation are to 
be confirmed by a two-thirds vote of the members 
present, and to be spread in full upon the minutes of 

the Board; and the officers to be empowered, as soon 

17 n 



194 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

as the money is paid into the treasury, to furnish the 
donor with a certified copy of the whole proceedings 
connected with the transaction. 

"John P. Crozer." 

RECEPTION OF THE DONATION BY THE BOARD. 

After the reading of this communication, the fol- 
lowing resolutions, on motion of J. Wheaton Smith, 
were unanimously adopted, viz. : 

"Whereas, John P. Crozer, Esq., of Delaware 
County, Pennsylvania, has generously tendered to the 
Board of the American Baptist Publication Society 
the sum of ten thousand dollars, as a donation for a 
special purpose, and on certain conditions as set forth 
in the above communication; 

"Resolved, That this Board do cordially and grate- 
fully accept from Mr. Crozer said donation for the 
purpose and on the conditions named by him. 

"Resolved, That this fund shall be entered on our 
minutes, and be known hereafter in our records, as 
the John P. Crozer Sunday-school Library 
Fund. 

" Resolved, That in this large addition to our means 
of usefulness, bestowed thus unexpectedly by one whose 
bounty we have so often shared, we recognize anew 
the kindness of our heavenly Father. And while we 
tender our heartfelt gratitude to one whose Christian 






LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 195 



benevolence is interwoven with the history of this 
Society, we also rejoice with him in that he is thus 
permitted to cast on another generation the mantle 
of his own noble charity." 

A committee of three was appointed to confer with 
Mr. Crozer, and recommend to the Board the best 
investment for this fund. 

After a short absence the committee reported, re- 
commending the purchase of ten thousand dollars in 
the new six per cent, loan of the city of Philadelphia. 
The recommendation w T as unanimously adopted, and 
the securities named were placed the next day in the 
hands of the treasurer. 

The influence of this donation upon the well-being 
of the present and coming generations cannot be 
over-estimated. As we look forward into the future, 
and follow the working of the libraries furnished 
from year to year by the interest of this fund, we see 
feeble schools revived and strengthened; new schools 
established, many of them growing into vigorous 
churches ; multitudes of children and youth con- 
verts 1 to Christ, entering and enlarging every depart- 
ment of work in the Redeemer's kingdom. Number- 
less and ever-multiplying springs of blessing will be 
opened, whose waters will deepen and widen and flow 
on for ever, making glad the hearts of multitudes. 

In the acceptance of this large donation the Board 



196 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

very properly expressed its gratitude. It had come 
to them unexpectedly and without their solicitation. 
As was natural and right, it was received with com- 
mendation. Some words of honest and manly praise 
were spoken by several members of the Board. In 
relation to this, he wrote that night in his diary : " It 
suffused my cheeks with color, and caused rather 
painful emotion. I feel that I have placed this 
money where good may result : may the blessing of 
God attend it !" 

When, in answer to his fervent prayers, one child 
after another was converted and made a public pro- 
fession of religion, the heart of Mr. Crozer over- 
flowed with gratitude to God. On the occasion of 
George's baptism the following entry was made : "Oh, 
how blessed are we ! I do feel it in my old age, and 
I want to feel it more and more. Two children, I 
humbly trust, in heaven ; five on earth who profess 
their love in Christ ; two yet who are thoughtful and 
serious, and I trust not far from the kingdom of 
heaven." 

While Mr. Crozer was thus actively engaged in 
works of mercy and of Christian charity, seeking to 
do good to the bodies and the souls of his fellow- 
men, he did not overlook the wants of his own 
spiritual nature. He says : " It is certainly not well 
that the world and its concerns should in the least 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE. 197 

interfere with my spiritual interests. My growth in 
grace is slow, very slow. How shall I remedy this ? 
How shall I lead a more devoted life — a life of trust 
and joy and peace? How. desirable while in the 
world to live above it ; to have my conversation in 
heaven, and be cheerfully ready to resign my mortal 
life !" And again he says : " My earnest, my greatest 
desire is to obtain a more lively faith in Christ. The 
world to one of my age can hold out but few induce- 
ments. If my faith were strong, I think I could let 
go my hold on life without much regret, and leap into 
eternity. I have nothing to desire for myself in this 
life but to be useful to my fellow-creatures ; and it 
pains me much when I think how little I have done 
for my Lord and Master. O Lord, wilt thou not 
strengthen my faith and confidence in thee ? I have 
no hope but in a precious Saviour, and I want no 
other. 

"A sinful, weak, and helpless worm, 
On thy kind arm I fall : 

Be thou my strength and righteousness, 
My Saviour and my all." 

On a birthday he writes : " I earnestly desire to 

live with staff in hand, and yet to work with greatly 

increased fervor in the cause of Christ, and for the 

good of mankind. The night of death draweth near, 

17* 



life in f. <::: 

Oh that I may be found prepared for the awful 

summons — awful : the Christian, bur oh, how 

Uy sc tt those rat f Christ! Lord, be 

thou my rook and my salvation, my stronghold} 

whereunto I may continually resort. I have no other 
hope, no other trust." 

As years . Mr. Crozer w - iiiently 

sadd 1 by the removal of those with whom he had 
long been" ass ks F Christian I 

fence. * ha the 19th of Octal \ > •. he writes: u I 
at the fun I friend, 

James M. Liunard, wh in his eightieth year. 

quaintance we so useful; n< 
mo: a I si 1 1 s an active 

Christian until within about a year : since then weak- 
ly infirmities have for the most part 
: him in retirement. He had I g _:i the main 
: the Pennsylvania Baptist Con- 
liissi Pur] - -. and his loss will be 

-v felt by that body.* I 
think he may in truth I set down as the head of the 
laymen nnsylvania. I feel his depart- 

I kn - in whom I 

I sueh oonfid . 

* 11 - - wm I to the presidency of the 

Convention on the Mr. Lioiiaidj and this position be 

tinues to fill. 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 199 

It has been to some a matter of surprise that Mr. 
Crozer, while pressed with cares attendant on the 
profitable management of an extensive business and a 
large estate, could find time for the liberal course of 
reading which he pursued, and for the seasons of 
devotion which he habitually enjoyed. A single fact 
may suffice to explain the means by which these ends 
were accomplished. One morning, as the winter 
frosts were coming on, he made this record in his 
diary : " The moon and stars have been shining 
brightly, but are now gradually fading at the ap- 
proach of the sun. It is a beautiful winter morning. 
How much is lost by lying in bed ! I have always 
been rather an early riser, though not so early this 
autumn as usual. It is a beautiful sight to see the 
brilliant lamps of night gradually dimmed before the 
more brilliant lamp of day. And then to think of 
that wonderful Power which created the sun to rule 
the day — the moon and the stars, the night ! Oh, 
how insignificant I appear, together with all around 
me, in contrast with the Creator of the vast universe ! 

"' Planets and suns and adamantine spheres 
Wheeling unshaken in the void immense/ 

And shall I soon be permitted to see face to face that 
wonder-working God? Well s may I shrink back at 
the thought ! well may I be impressed with dread 



200 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE. 

while I contemplate my sinfulness ! O thou great 
One, purify this heart by the inspiration of the Holy 
Spirit !" 

It was during these early hours that he had gained 
much of that acquaintance with books which he had 
acquired, and especially with the best of books which 
was his delight. For in one of his morning entries 
in his diary he says : " I love the Scriptures of 
inspiration, I think, with an increasing love. I love 
to read this blessed Book of books." And again, a 
few years later : " I think I have an increasing love 
for the Bible. And I love a little, I hope, to think 
of the Saviour Jesus, especially in connection with 
his wonderful sacrifice." 

It was from these seasons of early secret com- 
munion with God his Saviour that he came out to 
greet his household, and to lead, with glowing and 
grateful heart, in those family devotions whose influ- 
ence was so marked, shedding around his dwelling 
the sacredness and peace befitting a Christian home. 

Reference has already been made to his liberality 
in erecting and enlarging the house of worship at 
Upland, and to his care for the comfort of the pastors 
who watched over the church that was gathered. Yet 
this was the smallest part of the service which he 
rendered to the church. He regarded the contribu- 
tion of money as important ; yet looked upon this as 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 201 

one of the inferior kinds of service — "the lowest 
grade of usefulness in a Christian church." 

Though in the providence of God he was the 
instrument of rearing the house of worship and in 
the organization of the church, yet from the date of 
its constitution, he was simply one of the members, 
one of the humblest of them all. 

In the meetings of the church he was prompt, 
punctual, ready for every good w T ord and work. In 
its meetings for prayer he took a special delight, and 
was seldom absent. He had a very humble estimate 
of his ability as a leader in religious services. But 
his devotional spirit especially fitted him to lead the 
devotions of the church; and his words of earnest 
exhortation were always heard with interest, and 
often came with peculiar power to the hearts of those 
whom he addressed. 

On the constitution of the church he was chosen 
and ordained one of its deacons. His gardener, Mr. 
John Pretty, was chosen as his fellow-deacon, and 
ordained at the same time. They labored together in 
great harmony until the end of Mr. Crozer's work, 
mutually zealous for the welfare of the church, and 
each striving to use the office of a deacon well. 

From the record of 1864 these extracts are made. 
Speaking of his mother, he says : " Oh, the dear 
sainted woman ! I could now bound into her arms. 



202 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

My own loved wife has my intensely warm affections, 
but when I think of my mother, I feel that she 
should share with my wife the warmest affections of 
my heart. She was by nature kind to all and devoted 
to her children. Her sphere in life was narrow, and 
she was not formed for a leader in society. She was 
a woman of good intellect, but not disposed to step 
from the sphere where Providence had placed her. 
Her meek and quiet life passed away in attention to 
domestic duties — often confined to her chamber by 
sickness — and in devotion to her children. She was 
earnestly desirous to train them in the fear of the 
Lord; and God in much mercy has, I trust, rewarded 
her effort. The seeds of truth which she scattered 
were not lost in the minds of her children. Her 
meek example, her watchfulness against evil company 
and vice, her regard for the Lord's Day in a neigh- 
borhood where its sanctity was scarcely recognized, 
her teachings from the Scriptures, and many smaller 
acts and efforts, all tended to the same end — the con- 
version of her children to Christ." 

" Upon a review of the past, I think I feel disposed 
heartily to recognize the goodness of God in my case, 
notwithstanding my disobedience and hardness of 
heart. My youth, though passed in a somewhat 
obscure rural district, was not without temptation, as 
is the case in every neighborhood. And I recollect 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 203 

many instances — some, the thought of which makes 
me shrink with horror — in which my moral character 
might have been ruined, and disgrace have been 
brought upon myself and others. Yet I was merci- 
fully preserved, not merely from exposure, but also 
from all acts that might fear exposure. Yet, alas, 
how thankless ! 

" ' When through the slippery paths of youth 
With heedless steps I ran, 
Thine arm unseen conveyed me safe, 
And led me up to man/ 

I feel this day the goodness of God, and trust with 
some humility of soul;" 

After recounting the mercies and blessings with 
which God had followed him all the days of his life, 
and praying for increased usefulness; he concludes 
his record in these words : " O my Lord and my God, 
for Jesus' sake, my only hope, make me love thee 
with increasing desire and intensity of soul, until I 
can say, with sincerity of heart, 'Whom have I in 
heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I 
desire besides thee V Such, I believe, is the desire of 
my heart to-day, and I venture to subscribe it. And 
oh, may it be my habitual feeling! 




204 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE. 

The inability of pastors of small churches to pur- 
chase needed theological books was a subject that 
engaged the attention of Mr. Crozer; and in order to 
remedy it in some degree, he set an example worthy 
the imitation of those who survive him. From the 
records of the Publication Society the following in- 
teresting communication is taken: 

"Upland, February 28, 1865. 
"To the Board of Managers of the American Baptist 
Publication Society: 
"Dear Brethren: — I have felt much concern of 
late in reflecting upon the severe privation and sacri- 
fices of many of the pastors of our small churches. 
Those especially of new organizations are subject to 
not a few of these, having exhausted all their pecu- 
niary resources to secure an education, and have often 
to enter upon pastoral duties, with a very limited 
salary as a means of support, without the ability to 
secure even a scanty library. With a view to render 
some small aid to such in obtaining useful books, I 
propose to donate, in trust, to the American Baptist 
Publication Society, in perpetuity, the sum of 

FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS, 

subject to the following conditions and reservations, 
viz.: The sum of five thousand dollars is to be in- 
vested and kept in United States or in Pennsylvania 






LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 205 

State Government loans, or in the funded debt of the 
city of Philadelphia, or in bond and first mortgage 
well secured on real estate in said city, as may be 
decided upon and approved by any existing Board 
of Managers, at any stated meeting of said Board; 
such approval, however, must have the sanction of 
two-thirds of the members of the Board. The yeas 
of those voting in the affirmative must be so recorded 
on the minutes. Negative votes may be also recorded 
if required by the Board, or if asked by the member 
or members voting in the negative. 

"Should the American Baptist Publication Society 
at any future time, by any regular and legitimate pro- 
ceeding or action, change its name or title, or become 
united with or merged into any kindred society of the 
Baptist denomination engaged in a similar work, then 
this donation may be placed under the direction and 
subject to the control of such new arrangement; but 
the purposes of the donor, as herein set forth, are to 
be strictly regarded ; and neither the principal sum, 
nor the income or revenue derived therefrom, is to be 
directed or suffered to flow into any new channel, or 
for other objects than those herein specified. 

" The income or revenue, which shall accrue from 
the investment of this principal of five thousand dol- 
lars, is to form and become a fund for the supply, by 
gift, of books published or sold by the American 

18 



206 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEE. 

Baptist Publication Society, to pastors of Baptist 
churches in the United States, of such character and 
description as is already referred to in the foregoing, 
and as is hereinafter specified; no pastor, however, to 
have the benefit thereof to a greater amount than 
fifteen dollars; and included in the donation, the 
works of Rev. Andrew Fuller are recommended, 
though not insisted upon, as having a place. 

" In a former donation for the benefit of Sunday- 
schools, reference was made to a conviction that gifts 
and benefactions were most valued and generally 
most effective when not obtained without some cost 
and effort; and a recommendation was then made to 
the Board to require, as a general rule, that applicants 
for aid should purchase from our depository an 
amount of books equal in value to the amount do- 
nated. More frequent variation from this rule may be 
proper and necessary in the distribution for ministers' 
libraries than for Sunday-schools, yet the same recom- 
mendation is now given, leaving, however, a free dis- 
cretionary power with the Board. 

"The benefits of this donation are intended for all 
pastors of Baptist churches in the United States, re- 
cognized as such by the Board of the American Baptist 
Publication Society, without regard to color. As many 
applicants may be living in remote places, and un- 
known to any member of the Board, it must be 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 207 

required as an indispensable condition that satisfactory 
reference be given, and replies made in such form as 
the Board may deem proper. 

" The terms and conditions of this donation are to 
be confirmed by a two-thirds vote of the members 
present, and to be entered in full upon the minutes 
of the Board; and the officers to be empowered, 
as soon as the money is paid into the treasury, to 
furnish the donor with a certified copy of the whole 
proceeding. 

"Yours, with, a fraternal respect, 

"John P. Crozer." 

ACTION OF THE BOARD ON THE RECEPTION OF THIS 
DONATION. 

The following resolution, on motion of J. Wheaton 
Smith, was unanimously adopted : 

" Resolved, That we accept this liberal offer of our 
brother, John P. Crozer, with its accompanying con- 
ditions ; that we rejoice with him in the prospect 
thus opened of new usefulness in a most interesting 
field; and that we place on record our heartfelt grati- 
tude to God, by whose continued favor we have this 
new proof of unsolicited Christian generosity." 

The amount was placed immediately in the hands 
of the treasurer, and invested, by the order of the 
Board, in the seven-thirty Government notes. 



208 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 

Mr. Crozer's aversion to disputes and contentions 
has been referred to already in this narrative. He 
was naturally a peacemaker; and this trait of his 
character led him to pursue a conciliatory course in 
his policy. He loved all Christians of whatever 
name, and delighted to unite in work and worship 
with religious organizations composed of the various 
evangelical denominations. While this continued to 
be his feeling to the end of his life, he yet feared that 
it had sometimes led him too far ; and inclined him, 
by too strong a love of harmony and union, to the 
suppression of his individual convictions of truth. 
After long years of experience and observation, he 
made this record in his diary: "The pursuance of a 
middle or conciliatory course sometimes leads to a 
compromise of right, and gains neither the friend- 
ship nor respect of either side. A more fearless main- 
tenance of what I believe to be right in religion, as 
well as in secular affairs, would, I think, have made 
me more respected, and far more useful than I have 
been." 

In February of the previous year (1864) the atten- 
tion of Mr. Crozer had been again directed to the 
University at Lewisburg. The question of its per- 
manent location at Lewisburg had been definitely 
settled, and settled adversely to his wishes. On this 
subject his opinions had experienced no change. But 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 209 

he was still, as he had always been, deeply interested 
in its welfare. It had ample grounds and commo- 
dious buildings, but its funds were insufficient to meet 
its necessary expenses. Its debts were steadily in- 
creasing, and nothing but a more ample endowment 
could ensure its continuance. In this condition of 
affairs, Mr. Crozer offered, through Dr. J. R. Loomis, 
the able president of the university, to subscribe the 
sum of twenty thousand dollars, on condition that the 
larger sum of one hundred thousand dollars, inclusive 
of his own subscription, should be obtained within a 
specified time. The offer was liberally responded to, 
and at the annual commencement of the university, 
in July, 1865, the amount was reported as subscribed. 
In recording the facts in his diary, Mr. Crozer says : 
" I am now ready to pay over the twenty thousand 
dollars. I am satisfied that I have saved the institu- 
tion ; and I think I may claim to have done it, for 
it was on the brink of ruin. Others, however, 
might have done what I did, yet none seemed likely 
to do it." 

He concludes the record of this year (1865) with 
these words: "In entering upon a new year, my 
seventy-third, I cannot but be serious. Shall this 
year be my last? Omniscience can only solve the 
question. I would not, if I could, pry into the 
things which are forbidden me to know. O my Lord 

IS* 



210 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEE, 

and Master ! teach me how to live ; so teach me to 
number my days that I may apply my heart unto 
wisdom; teach me how to prepare for the summons 
which may come this year — which must come ere long. 
I wish to be fervently thankful to my God for a con- 
tinuance of health and comfort. These I have enjoyed 
in an eminent degree through a long life." 

As we have seen, the work of the Christian Com- 
mission had engaged much of Mr. Crozer's interest 
from its first organization in 1861. fie had given 
time, sympathy, and large material aid to the noble 
work. But the war had at length come to an end. 
The benevolent work of the Commission, of course, 
could not cease with the suspension of hostilities. 
For some months afterward there were still calls 
upon its resources — calls which the liberality of its 
friends enabled it to meet. But at length the. time 
came when the work which had been so faithfully 
prosecuted was to end, and the laborers in the Com- 
mission were to bid each other, in their official ca- 
pacity, farewell. On the 11th of January, 1866, Mr. 
Crozer makes this record of his last meeting with 
them: "The Christian Commission met. It was the 
last meeting here. The Board was nearly full. I 
could not stay until the close; but at half-past two P. 
M. I took each member by the hand and bade him a 
cordial farewell. I felt very solemn when I thought 






LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZER. 211 

that we were to meet, as the Christian Commission 
Board, no more." 

We now come to his last birthday, January 13, 
1866, and to the last record he made in his diary: 
"My gifts of benevolence have, I think, exceeded 
those of any preceding year; and in commencing a 
new year it is my desire — and I pray God to give me 
grace to carry out that desire to fulfillment — to do 
greatly more than in any past year of my life. Eter- 
nity seems near, and I ivish it to be so. I would to 
God that I could live with my staff in my hand. 
Few men have been more richly blessed in every 
earthly good — a vigorous constitution, an active 
mind, with industry, perseverance, and a good busi- 
ness judgment. Providence placed me in such a 
position in life as brought these qualities of body and 
mind into active play. My wife, too, affectionate and 
desiring to make me happy; children generally kind 
and considerate, indeed, almost invariably so; and 
surrounded by much to make life desirable. These 
blessings have followed me through a long life, and 
while it is natural that they should bind me to life, I 
feel that I ought to be cheerfully willing, after enjoy- 
ing them so long, to surrender them all at the Mas- 
ter's call. O Lord, give me the disposition to be 
daily, hourly willing to die ! And oh ! may my faith 
be firm, that when I am called hence, no doubt or 



212 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 

fear shall be suffered to flit across my mind. I want 
to die in strong faith. It has never been my privilege 
to possess that strong and unwavering faith which is 
given to some. O God, for Christ's sake, pity and 
strengthen an old man, so soon to put off this mortal 
life, and to launch into the eternal world ! My time 
is in thy hand. O God, make me all thou wouldst 
have me to be! I here close; and beginning the 
seventy-fourth year of my life, I desire to do it in the 
fear of God and under a deep sense of my dependence. 
It may be — and it is by no means unlikely — that I am 
noiv penning the last anniversary record; if so, the icill 
of the Lord be done ! Amen I" 

The reader will have noticed that, in his birthday 
reflections, Mr. Crozer had often contemplated death, 
and looked upon its possible approach with compo- 
sure; but often as he had touched this theme before, he 
had never written as now. He now manifests a more 
willing submission to that inevitable event which 
awaits us all — a cheerful and hearty acquiescence in its 
approach. This is that final ripening which heaven 
in mercy gives to those whose end is near. In the 
spirit of these closing sentences we behold the sunset 
beauty of a day fast fading into night — the autumn 
glory of a well-spent life. 



CHAPTER XI. 

LIFE AT ITS CLOSE. 

ME. CROZER entered upon the duties of the open- 
ing year in the enjoyment of his usual health, 
and in the full maturity of his powers. It is promised 
to " those that be planted in the house of the Lord," 
that " they shall still bring forth fruit in old age." 
This promise was happily fulfilled ; and we find him 
in the seventy-fourth year of his life with faculties 
unimpaired by age, and with larger conceptions of 
usefulness than perhaps ever before. 

It is related by Allan Cunningham of the dis- 
tinguished painter whose name is associated with 
Mr. Crozer's in the circumstances of his birth, that 
as old age benumbed his faculties and began to freeze 
up the wellspring of original thought, the daring 
intrepidity of the man seemed to grow and augment. 
Immense pictures, embracing topics which would have 
alarmed a less lofty spirit, came crowding thick upon 
his fancy. There is something so brave in these 
colossal efforts of an old man's genius as makes us 
lenient to their faults, and tempts us strongly to 

213 



214 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZER. 

forget that, beneath the grandeur of his conception, 
the skill of his arrangement, and the splendor of his 
coloring, there is a lack of true vitality — that he 
wanted warmth and imagination to be the restorer of 
a style which bewildered Barry and lived in the 
dreams of Reynolds. 

In the not less noble sphere in which the subject of 
this memoir moved, we find him steadily advancing : 
as he grew older, he grew grander, escaping in a 
remarkable degree the frailties incident to age. His 
whole life was a growth; and it may be said of him 
with truth, that he did not cease to grow until he 
began to die. So true is this, that now, in the ma- 
turity of his age, his affluence, and his usefulness, we 
find our most fitting opportunity for an estimate of 
his character. 

Mr. Crozer was not so largely endowed by nature 
as at first might be supposed. A sound body, a 
sound and well-balanced mind, with a certain moral 
sensitiveness in a somewhat unusual measure, seem to 
have made up the sum of his natural endowments. 

His early advantages, as we have seen, were limited. 
He was born in a retired country neighborhood, with 
its necessary lack of social advantages and culture. 
His school education was scanty. His teachers were 
incompetent, and often ignorant; and his studies 
ceased in his thirteenth year — soon after they were 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZEE. 215 

fairly begun — except as they were pursued in winter 
and accompanied with work, 

The length of his life upon the farm was also 
against him. Had it ceased when his muscular 
strength was developed and his frame settled and 
compacted, it might have proved advantageous ; but 
remaining at hard labor to the twenty-eighth year of 
his age was unfavorable to the best development of 
his powers. Whatever may be said, either in prose 
or poetry, of the pursuits of farming as they are 
practised now, in those days they furnished little 
incitement to mental activity. Eating, drinking, and 
sleeping were almost the only relaxations they afforded 
from incessant toil, and their tendency was to reduce 
any ordinary man to the lowest point of intelligent 
existence. 

But he struggled bravely to surmount these ob- 
stacles, resorting to reading and study to make amends 
for his meagre opportunities at school. We have seen 
him, at twenty-one, sitting down by himself to the 
mastery of English grammar— grammar being one 
of the higher branches, not comprised in the regular 
course at the " little stone school-house." We have 
found him at the plough with an English classic in 
his pocket, and began to believe "there was some- 
thing in him." We followed him on his horseback 
journey of nearly three thousand miles; and watched 



216 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 

hini on his return, as he chose a new occupation, and 
entered upon the trials and dangers of a business 
career. We looked on with solicitude when his success 
was doubtful; and marked his perseverance, his indus- 
try; and his integrity. We have seen him when past 
middle age in reverses which nearly stripped him of 
the competence he had gained by a life of toil, and 
noted how courageously he bore them. Since then, 
as we have followed the story of his life, we have 
become conversant with his hopes, his fears, his pur- 
poses ; and watched with delight the gradual unfold- 
ing of his character. 

Let us now consider him as he is in the last 
development of his manliness; and before we bid him 
good-bye for ever — and yet, not "for ever" — catch 
the latest inspiration of his life. 

We find him in the possession of an ample fortune. 
This of itself is fair proof of his ability. A fortune 
is not often the fruit of folly. Less frequently than 
some suppose, is wealth a pleasant blunder, into which 
the possessor has somehow fallen. In his case it is 
certainly a reward of merit. He is regarded by all 
who knew him as a sagacious, far-sighted, and 
thorough business man. Not only is he well informed 
in matters of business, but we find him a man of 
general intelligence, acquainted uncommonly well with 
all that is transpiring in the world around him. In 



LIFE OF JOHN F. CBOZER. 217 

conversing with him, he is modest and unassuming, 
but you are impressed with the clearness of his 
sentences and the weight of his opinions. 

In his tastes he is cultivated and refined. He is 
living in a spacious mansion, in the midst of ample 
grounds, adorned with flowers and foliage. His 
dress and manners are those of a gentleman. He 
keeps his carriages and horses and servants; and 
lives in a style befitting his ample means, avoiding 
all parsimony on the one hand, and ostentatious dis- 
play on the other. He dispenses a cheerful and 
generous hospitality, and friends in almost any num- 
ber are always welcome at his board. He is quick to 
reciprocate the courtesies of social life, and prompt in 
the exchange of all civilities which a true politeness 
may require. If you enter his dwelling, you are 
struck with an air of comfort and good taste, which 
seems to bid you feel at home. In his relations to 
his family there is a certain dignified tenderness in 
his manner, which is quite remarkable. No attention 
to their wants or wishes is intentionally withheld. 
His wife he " delights to honor," and his children he 
" loves to cherish." 

He is still a lover of books ; of the Bible he is a 
diligent student; he uses such practical authors as 
Baxter and Bunyan, as Harris and James, and reads, 
for the sake of their example, the lives of Howard 



218 LIFE OF JOHX P. CEOZEB. 

and Wilberforce. He is fond of the writings of 
Robert Hall and of Andrew Fuller, and pores over 
the pages of Paley, of Home's Introduction, and of 
Butler's Analogy, We find him familiar with Gib- 
bon and Hume, with Johnson and Goldsmith, with 
Prescott and Macaulay. He still reads English 
poetry — Milton and Shakspeare are his favorites ; 
and, at past his u threescore years and ten," we find 
him reviewing with delight the scenes of Richard the 
Third and Henry the Eighth. 

He is not a man of learning, but he is what is 
better, if you cannot be both — he is a man of educa- 
tion. We use the word education in its most literal 
sense, and as distinguished from learning. The 
man of learning is a reservoir, receiving into its 
ample basin the stream that comes dashing from the 
mountain, and the drop that trickles from the rock ; 
the man of education is the powerful and polished 
steam-engine, drawing from the nearest fountain, 
digesting its aliment into forces, moving its brawny 
arms like a Titan, but breathing softly as a sleeping 
child, while a thousand wheels go buzzing at its will. 
There were more learned men in England than Wil- 
liam Pitt, but it may be questioned if in all England 
there was a man better educated than he. Adam 
Smith could write the Wealth of Nations, but he 
could never have replenished the bankrupt treasury. 



A 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 219 

Not a learned scholar of Oxford or of Cambridge 
would have risked his professor's hat in that tempest 
of disaster where Pitt stood fearless, though alone. 
The old ship trembled in the trough of a sea which 
threatened each moment to engulf her ; but a master 
had come to the command; the wave-washed deck 
w r as conscious of his tread, — the helm felt the magic 
of his touch, — the crew caught the spirit of his trum- 
pet tones. 'Round swept the bow before the sea, — out 
flew the canvas to the gale, — and away leaped the ship, 
like a steed that knows his rider. This man, Pitt, 
was an educated man in the strictest acceptance of 
the word. 

The careful observer must have noticed that the 
pursuits of business furnish some advantages for 
education which the schools do not afford ; and that in 
some respects they produce a more ready and efficient 
style of mental discipline, a better knowledge of 
human nature, a higher proficiency in that grandest 
of arts — the art of using the minds and the learning 
of other men. Such advantages Mr. Crozer has 
enjoyed. He has gained the power of thinking 
closely and consecutively; can concentrate his atten- 
tion at will; and is capable of certain processes of 
mind, dissimilar in their nature, and rarely associated 
in the same individual. He seems equally able to 
grasp comprehensively the outlines of a great enter- 



220 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

prise, and to examine it in its minute details — the 
result, most probably, of his necessities at the head of 
a business which demanded so frequently the practice 
of 'both these processes of mental activity. He is a 
man of marked decision of character, possessing, in 
an unusual degree what Mr. Foster calls the " con- 
stituents of this commanding quality." Indeed the 
resemblance is so striking that we are almost led to 
believe he must have made that noble essay of Foster 
a special study, although we find no mention of the 
fact. 

A man thus educated should be useful; he should 
not live for himself alone, or for his family. With a 
fortune at his disposal, he should not permit even his 
business affairs to engross too much of his attention. 
In studying the character of such a man, we may 
justly inquire what use he is making of his time, his 
talent, and his fortune. Nor shall we be disappointed ; 
for as we follow him in his daily life, we shall find 
him interested and active in almost all the real be- 
nevolence of the day. The benevolence of his own 
denomination not only, but of other denominations, 
and of no denomination at all. From the work of 
the Christian Commission he is just emerging. An 
Asylum for the Insane has already received his 
generous contribution. Of the Training School for 
Feeble-minded Children he is the president; as also 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 221 

of a Home for Friendless Children, and of a Wo- 
man's Hospital. He is president of the Pennsyl- 
vania Colonization Society, and actively engaged in 
its work. To the poor of the great city with which 
his interests are so closely identified, he is accustomed 
to contribute annually and largely. In the endow- 
ment of colleges and schools, he is deeply interested ; 
as also in the support of Christian missions in his 
own and other lands. Of a society for the education 
of young men for the ministry of the gospel, he has 
been for years the president, contributing largely to 
its funds. He has great faith in the usefulness of good 
books, and through the publishing society of his own 
denomination, of whose Board he is president, he is 
giving in bountiful sums for their dissemination. 
Bible societies, tract societies, and the Sunday-school 
Union are engaging his attention. He finds time also 
to listen to many private applications for aid, and 
examine them minutely. His sympathy is easily 
aroused, but this does not avail in your behalf; if 
you wish his aid, you must carry his judgment. 
When an applicant is deferred for a more intelligent 
understanding of the case, he need not fear it is for- 
gotten : it will be faithfully considered and decided. 
All this work for humanity requires time, if it be 
done wisely, and it is believed that his beneficence is 

mainly limited by his opportunities, 
19* 



222 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEE. 

But why is he thus occupied with schemes of be- 
nevolence? Is it from weariness of wealth? or from 
love of fame? or from that tenderness of heart which 
leads to sympathy with woe? A single hour in his 
presence will convince you that it is from motives 
better than either. In his view, this method of life 
is not optional, but imperative. For more than 
twenty years he has been deeply impressed with the 
belief that his property is not his own — he holds it as 
a sacred trust, which has been committed to his care, 
and feels his accountability as a steward. The same 
principle is extended to his time, his talent, and him- 
self. This idea of a stewardship is italicised in all his 
thoughts. As you turn to his diary — containing the 
secrets of his heart, as recorded for no eye but his 
own — you are surprised at the frequency of the word; 
and learn how completely the idea has gained posses- 
sion of his mind, and become a ruling principle of 
his action. 

The morality of such a man is, of course, above 
reproach; but morality, like health, exists in all 
degrees. With him its precepts have become estab- 
lished principles. Few men illustrate more finely 
what Bishop Butler calls " habits of virtue." 

Better than all, he is a Christian man. This is the 
secret of his power, the controlling principle of his 
action. In that hour when he "sat among the boys 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 223 

in the farm-house kitchen " he had been caught up to 
the bosom of his Lord. A personal love of his Re- 
deemer has been the inspiration of his life. It was 
this, which sent him to his father's library to make 
amends for his meagre opportunities at school ; — this, 
which, in his early toil, lengthened the weary days for 
study, and illumined the dreams of his short sleep. 
It was this, which developed the industry, the perse- 
verance, and integrity of his business career; — this, 
which has moulded and rounded his character, and 
binds him, by every tie of gratitude and love, to use 
the wealth entrusted to his care for the glory of God 
and the welfare of his fellow-men. 

In the outward duties of religion we find him sim- 
ple and unostentatious. Rising early — often in the 
winter while the stars are still shining — he gives the 
freshness of morning to his private meditation and 
prayer. In the worship of his household he officiates 
with priestly dignity, impressing all who are present 
with the fervor and earnestness of his devotion. At 
the weekly prayer-meeting he is uniformly found, 
uniting with the humblest of his people in the duties 
of prayer and praise, and speaking words of faithful 
Christian exhortation. On Sunday morning you will 
find him among the children of his village — in the 
Sunday-school. He has been the superintendent of a 
Sunday-school for nearly forty years. In the worship 



224 LIFE OF JOHX P. CEO ZEE. 

of the sanctuary lie is an example of serious and 
devout attention. 

Sueli are the general outlines of his life and cha- 
racter; and he impresses us with the wealth of his 
manliness — or rather with the graces of his godliness. 
Few words have more in common, few have more 
that is distinctively peculiar to each, than these two 
words, "manliness" and "godliness." Manliness is 
the mountain-side where a human foot may climb — up 
above the flowers — above the mosses — above the rocks ; 
but where its pathway ceases, the path of godliness 
begins. There are heights above, lying in vestal 
whiteness, piercing the clouds which bathe them — 
heights which mortal foot unaided never trod. Their 
crystal pathway is for him whose human weakness 
rinds the grace and guidance of his God. 

We have followed the subject of this narrative 
through the history of a long life, and found that life 
sustained and strengthened by a Christian faith. He 
is now about to die! Let us see if the hopes which 
cheered him in his life will sustain and solace him 
in his death. 

We have already alluded to the fact that in entering 
upon the duties of the new year (1866) Mr. Crozer 
formed the purpose of making donations in much 
larger amounts than he had ever before bestowed. 
He now began to give shape to an enterprise which, 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEE. 225 

although he did not live to complete it, was grandly 
consummated by his children. Among other objects 
which were engaging his attention, he had become 
deeply interested in the welfare of the nation's freed- 
men; and with a view of forming some well-laid 
plan in their behalf, he prepared for a journey which 
he hoped to extend over a large portion of the South- 
ern States. On the 1st of February, 1866, he started 
with several members of his family, including two 
of his sons and his son-in-law, Dr. Griffith. After 
an absence of a few days, it became evident to Mr. 
Crozer that his strength w^as failing, and that his 
disease — that of the kidneys, from which he had long 
been a sufferer — was assuming a more serious form. 
While at Petersburg, Virginia, he decided to return. 
The journey was pursued to its completion by Dr. 
Griffith and the author of this narrative — a journey 
which will long be remembered ; extending through 
the Atlantic States to Savannah, thence inland to 
Montgomery, southward by the Alabama river to the 
Gulf of Mexico, across to New Orleans, and north- 
ward by the Mississippi States to Memphis ; where, 
on Monday, the 5th of March, we were both, on the 
same day, and almost at the same hour, summoned 
by telegraph to return. Our message was freighted 
with a double sorrow : it contained tidings of the 
dangerous illness of Mr. Crozer, and also of the 



226 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEE. 

dying condition of my tenderly-beloved parishioner, 
Dr. David Jayne. 

No serious alarm at the condition of Mr. Crozer 
had been felt by his family at the time of his return ; 
but he himself seems to have been deeply impressed 
with the belief that his life was drawing to its close. 
From the time of his arrival at Upland the progress 
of his disease was rapid, with only such intervals of 
a more hopeful kind as afforded temporary relief. 
The best of medical aid failed"' to stay its progress; 
and soon, in the confinement of his room, he laid 
down upon his dying bed. While all hoped for his 
recovery, he knew it was impossible, and calmly 
awaited the result. At times the agony of his 
bodily pain was almost insufferable, but his mind 
was at rest. 

To his eldest daughter he said, " I do not want my 
family to give way to their feelings before me, for it 
would unnerve me. I want you all to pray that no 
dark cloud may come over me at the last, but that 
my faith may be strong and clear, and that God will 
give me grace to bear all patiently." She replied, 
" We have asked this for you, and I have asked 
another boon — that your life may be spared to us." 
He answered, " I had rather you would ask for the 
other, my child." 

One morning, as he was raised in bed to take his 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 227 

cup of coffee, the shutters were opened. As the 
cheerful light broke in, he quoted with deep emotion 
those noble words of Milton, from the "Paradise 
Lost," commencing, 

''Hail,. holy light! offspring of heaven, first-horn." 

On another occasion he said to his family, who 
were assembled in his room, " I feel deeply my own 
unworthiness, and how little I have done for my 
fellow-men and for the glory of God. Oh, I so much 
regret I had not carried out my s;ood resolutions, and 
given away more last year ! I feel reproached that I 
did not ; but my children must try to forget all 
their father's weaknesses and imperfections, and 
remember only the few good traits he possessed, if he 
had any." One of his daughters replied, " Father, I 
know you do not want praise, and I will not give it ; 
but the world says, you have been benevolent, and 
have given away a great deal." He answered, " My 
child, w T hat I say is between God and my own soul. 
I have done nothing in comparison with what I should 
have done." 

At his request, there was read to him the fourteenth 
chapter of John. He appeared to dwell with delight 
upon the passage, " Let not your heart be troubled. 
Ye believe in God, believing also in me. In my 
Father's house are many mansions ; if it were not so, 



228 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZER. 

I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for 
you." During the reading of this passage his physi- 
cian came in, but Mr. Crozer desired the chapter to 
be finished. At the close he said, " Doctor, I never 
desire to obtrude my religious views upon others ; but 
I am a believer in the religion of Jesus. I have 
confidence in you as my physician, and am glad that 
I have ; but I also have confidence in the great Phy- 
sician, and I look to him now, in the time of my 
weakness and suffering." 

During his illness a letter of friendly condolence 
was received from Mr. J. S. Newbold, and also one 
from Mr. Geo. H. Stuart, with whom he had been 
intimately associated in the work of the Christian 
Commission. 

Mr. Crozer, punctual even now, insisted on send- 
ing answers. Too weak to write, he dictated 
his replies, one of his daughters acting as his 
amanuensis : 

To J. S. Newbold, Esq., he dictated the following: 

"UrLAND, March 3, 1866. 

"My Dear Friend: — My daughter has just in- 
formed me that a sympathizing letter was received 
from you some days ago. The family, on account of 
my extreme prostration, had thought it best to conceal 
from me even communications of friendship. But 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZER. 229 

with you, my dear friend, sympathy under every cir- 
cumstance is sweet. We have acted much together, 
and harmoniously, not only as men of business, but 
as Christian men. It is possible that it may be the 
will of God we shall meet no more on earth, but a 
bright future is before us. Farewell, my dear friend. 
Be steadfast in faith. Pray for your friend, that he 
may be resigned to the will of God, whether in life or 
in death. 

" Affectionately your brother in Christ, 

" J. P. Crozer." 

His reply to Mr. Stuart's letter was as follows : 

Upland, March 3, 1866. 
" My Dear Christian Friend : — It has pleased 
my heavenly Father to afflict me sorely, but he has 
graciously granted me his kind support in affliction, 
and I have been enabled to kiss the hand which chas- 
tised. It had been my impression that this illness 
would be my last— that I should no more mingle with 
my Christian friends on earth. To me, the future 
still seems uncertain, although my family think I 
may recover. I wish to submit all to my hea- 
venly Father for life or death. If life is prolonged, 
it is my fervent desire to consecrate its remnant 
entirely to the service of my Master. Portions of 
my family, with myself, had gone to Washington to 

20 



230 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEB. 

participate in the delightful services of the Christian 
Commission, but prostration compelled me to hurry 
home. Do you, my dear brother, work on as a* 
standard-bearer in the great cause. AVe shall meet 
around the throne if we meet no more on earth. 
Work on fearlessly, as you have done. I am grateful 
for the remembrances of my dear brethren in prayer, 
and would ask a continuance thereof. How incon- 
ceivably small denominational differences appear on 
the threshold of the eternal world ! My weakness 
compels my daughter to write for me. 

" Your brother in Christ, 

" J. P. Crozee." 

In an interval of his terrible illness, when com- 
paratively free from suffering, he said to his wife and 
his children, who were all assembled in his room: 
" You are my stewards, my almoners to carry on the 
work which I have so imperfectly begun. You must 
take it up where I have left off, and do it for me. 
Oh ! I had so much still to do ! See that you are 
faithful stewards." 

Once, when his wife with Samuel and Mrs. Buck- 
nell were standing by his bed-side, he said, " You, as 
a Christian gentleman, and you, as Christian ladies, 
will have immense responsibilities thrown upon you. 
Oh, be faithful ! You, my dear wife, will have a large 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 231 

income. Oh, use it for God ! Be faithful in your 
stewardship/ 7 These injunctions were often reiterated 
during his sickness, and enforced with a look of 
earnest pleading, which evinced their deep sincerity. 

In the forenoon of Wednesday, March 7, his wife 
and his sister, Mrs. Campbell, and his seven children, 
being present, Charlotte Elliott's familiar hymn was 
repeated to him: 

"Just as I am, without one plea 
But that thy blood was shed for me, 
And that thou bid'st me come to thee, 
O Lamb of God, I come, I come ! 

" Just as I am, and waiting not 
To rid my soul of one dark blot, 
To thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, 
' O Lamb of God, I come, I come ! 

" Just as I am ; — thou wilt receive ; 
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve ; 
Because thy promise I believe, — 
O Lamb of God, I come, I come ! 

"Just as I am ! — thy love unknown 
Has broken every barrier down : 
Now to be thine, yea, thine alone, 
O Lamb of God, I come, I come !" 

Until his strength failed, Mr. Crozer joined in the 
utterance of the words. After requesting his mouth 
to be moistened, he spoke of not having the full hap- 



232 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER, 

piness and full assurance of faith which he desired, 
adding, " The dying stroke is not on rue now. I wish 
it were, that I might breathe my soul out into the 
bosom of my God." He then asked Samuel to lead 
in prayer, addressing him as " my dear first-born." 
He desired them in their devotions to ask, not so much 
for his restoration to health, as for more joy and 
peace in believing, and that no cloud might rest upon 
him in his dying hour. 

On the following day he took a final leave of a 
young friend who was present, of his private clerk, 
and of John Pretty, his gardener. The latter had been 
in his employ for seventeen years, and was, as we 
have seen, his fellow-deacon in the church. To him 
Mr. Crozer said, giving him his hand, "John, my old 
friend, we shall see each other no more in the flesh. 
There are many things I should like to say to you, 
but I cannot say them now. I am the subject of 
many imperfections ; nevertheless, I can say, the 
Saviour is mine and I am his. 'I have fought a good 
fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. 
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of right- 
eousness, which the Lord the righteous judge shall 
give to me at that day, and not to me only, but unto 
all them also that love his appearing/" He then 
addressed a few words to each member of his family, 
speaking with much appropriateness and marked ten- 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZER. 233 

derness to each; and again charged them all with 
great solemnity to be "faithful stewards." 

The same night, after being bathed by his wife, he 
said to her, " Now pray that I may sleep the sleep 
of death." She replied, "Oh, no ! my dear, I cannot 
pray that prayer." "Well, then," he said, "pray any 
prayer that seemeth to Him good." 

During the night he rested some; and early the 
next morning said, "I shall die in the faith of Jesus." 
The day was one of intense suffering, accompanied 
with fearful spasms of agonizing pain. For two hours 
he was supposed to be dying ; but, at intervals, he 
exclaimed, "My God doeth all things well," "my 
God doeth all things well ;" and again, 

" Jesus, Jesus, light divine, 
Shine upon us ! ever shine !" 

On Saturday, the day before he died, he said, 
"Jesus is my all. He is my only hope — my only 
Saviour. I have no trust but in him — he is my 
Saviour ; and though he slay me, yet will I trust in 
him." He then recognized his son-in-law, Dr. Grif- 
fith, for whom he had asked daily ; and who, on reach- 
ing home only the afternoon before, had been but 
partially recognized. " My dear son-in-law, you have 
my welcome. Oh, work for Jesus ! work for Jesus ! 

work for Jesus !" repeating the words three times. 
20* 



284 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

Mr. Bucknell, his other son-in-law, then took Dr. 
Griffith's place. Mr. Crozer took his hand, as he 
had taken Dr. Griffith's, and said, " I am sustained 
throughout. I am so blessed — no anxiety — no af- 
fright." Mr. Bucknell said, " You feel the everlast- 
ing arms underneath you?" He responded with 
earnestness, and with a glow of heavenly radiance 
upon his features, " Oh, yes ! underneath me — under- 
neaih me. Xo more — now let me die." 
His children then sang to him the hymn, 

" There is a fountain filled with blood 
Drawn from Immanuel's veins; 
And sinners plunged beneath that flood 
Lose all their guilty stains." 

A little later they said: " Father, we are all with 
you — mother and all your children." He answered : 
"I did not know it;" and then commenced a prayer 
in these words: " Under peculiar circumstances I 
come to thee, O Lord. I commit my family into thy 
hand. I know not how to commit them, but I feel 
that they are — they are — " After a pause, in which 
the mind reeled for a moment, he added: " Bless 
them;" and then, as if faith had heard the answer, 
he added, "God will protect my babes! He will 
protect my babes !" 

They then all joined in singing the beautiful hymn, 






LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 235 

" Kock of Ages, cleft for me, 
Let me hide myself in thee I 
Let the water and the blood, 
From thy riven side which flowed, 
Be of sin the double cure — 
Cleanse me from its guilt and power." 

He responded: "I have no other. I want no 
other. My only trust — my only hope — my God — 
my Saviour." About noon they sang, 

" Jesus, I love thy charming name ; 
'Tis music to my ear ; 
Fain would I sound it out so loud 
That earth and heaven might hear." 

With an expression of great joy upon his counte- 
nance, and with hands upraised, he joined in the song. 
When it ceased, he said : " I love Jesus with my last 
dying breath. Now sing, i Salvation, oh, the joyful 
sound T " The hymn was sung ; and afterward another 
favorite of his : 

" Majestic sweetness sits enthroned 
Upon the Saviour's brow ; 
His head with radiant glories crowned, 
His lips with grace o'erflow." 

"I am in a strait betwixt two," he added, " long- 
ing to depart." They then sang, 



236 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 

" On Jordan's stormy banks I stand, 
And cast a wishful eve 
To Canaan's fair and happy land, 
"Where nay possessions lie." 

As a paroxysm of pain returned, he repeated: 
"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." As 
his wife sat by his bedside holding his hand, he ex- 
claimed: "Sweet is the journey — sweet is the journey. 
My head upon my Maker's breast — my head upon 
my Maker's breast !" Then stretching forth the other 
hand, he said: "Give me thy hand, Jesus: I want no 
other hand but thine." 

This day of joy was followed by a night of intense 
illness. He was dying for many hours. About five 
the next morning, one of his daughters repeated to 
him the Scripture commencing: "For we know, that 
if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, 
we have a building of God, an house not made with 
hands, eternal in the heavens." She then, with lips 
close to his ear, asked if he still loved Jesus. One 
hand and all one side were paralyzed ; but raising the 
other hand, he answered distinctly, "Yes." This was 
his last intelligible word. He died at half-past nine, 
on the morning of Sunday, March 11, 186G. He had 
lived to see the light of the day he loved so well; 
and as the children of the Sunday-school were singing 
their songs of morning praise, their friend and patron 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEB. 237 

passed to the songs and worship of the white-robed 
throng. 

"Dear as thou wast, and justly dear, 
We will not weep for thee ; 
One thought shall check the starting tear — 
It is that thou art free. 

"And thus shall faith's consoling power 
The tears of love restrain ; 
Oh, who that saw thy parting hour 
Could wish thee here again ? 

" Triumphant, in thy closing eye 
The hope of glory shone ; 
Joy breathed in thy expiring sigh, 
To think the race was run. 

''The passing spirit gently fled, 
Sustained by grace divine ; 
Oh, may such grace on us be shed, 
And make our end like thine !" 



CHAPTER XII. 
"and their works do follow them." 

OX the Wednesday following his departure, the 
remains of Mr. Crozer were borne to their rest- 
ing-place, in the family burying ground at Upland. 
The citizens of Philadelphia combined with the citi- 
zens of his native county in doing honor to the sad 
occasion. Merchants, manufacturers, and professional 
men united in paying their respects to his memory. 
The stately mansion of its late owner was crowded to 
its utmost capacity, and the village church was far 
too small to receive the long procession which followed 
his remains. The ministry of his own denomination 
in Philadelphia attended in a body. Clergymen of 
other branches of the great Christian family — in- 
cluding the Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Methodist — 
were also present. It was a touching sight to witness 
the deep feeling manifested by his operatives. As 
they stood by his coffin, and gazed upon his inanimate 
form, tears flowed apace, and rolled down the cheeks 
alike of the women and the men. 

233 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 239 

The religious services at the church were conducted 
by the pastor, Dr. J. M. Pendleton. The Rev. 
"William Wilder, a former pastor of the deceased, 
offered prayer. Dr. Pendleton preached from 2 Tim. 
iv. 7 : " I have fought a good fight, I have finished 
my course, I have kept the faith." He was followed 
in remarks by the estimable Dr. J. H. Kennard, so 
soon to join the friend of whom he spoke, amid the 
realities of the eternal world. Some closing words 
were added by the author of this narrative ; and Rev. 
Alfred Lee, the venerable Bishop of Delaware — 
a personal friend of the departed — read a service at 
the grave. 

The will of Mr. Crozer was written by himself. 
It is a very remarkable document. An extract from it 
will illustrate how naturally religion may be blended 
with business, and the dry, hard forms of a legal 
instrument, be suffused with the warmth and beauty 
of the Christian faith : 

EXTRACT FROM WILL. 

"My special desire, left here on record for my 
children and descendants, is, that harmony, union, and 
love may ever continue amongst them. I have some- 
times witnessed unhappy family dissensions in the 
distribution of estates ; but I earnestly entreat that this 
may not be the case in my loved family. That 



240 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE. 

family inherits a large estate compared with the for- 
tunes of their ancestry ; and I have, to the best of my 
judgment, distributed this estate * without partiality. 
I have sought to guard my daughters against indis- 
cretion or misfortune, in securing a portion of their 
estates in trust for the benefit of themselves and their 
heirs and relatives by blood ; but I have left to each 
in residue a pretty large amount subject to their own 
disposal. 

" I recommend to my beloved wife to distribute 
in deeds of charity and benevolence all her surplus 
income ; but at the same time to maintain a liberal, 
though unostentatious style of living, such as her 
large income will well allow and sanction. She will, 
I am sure, seek to continue that same moral and 
religious influence over her household which we have, 
for so many years labored, however imperfectly, to 
pursue. Lastly, I commit my family, to whom I am 
most devotedly attached, to the keeping of that 
Almighty Power who has promised to regard the 
widow and the fatherless. I have been signally 
blessed through a long life — my health has been uni- 
formly good; I have had great worldly prosperity; 
have been especially blessed in a most estimable con- 
sort, who has ever devoted her untiring labors to the 
welfare, comfort, and happiness of her husband and 
family. Our children have been kind and afFection- 






LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 241 

ate ; I have been spared, too, to see them grow up to 
man and womanhood, and four* of them settled in 
life. Oh that I were more thankful for these many 
and great mercies ! I have, with my loved wife, 
though in conscious weakness, endeavored to train my 
children by precept and example in the ' fear of the 
Lord f and let me now entreat my dear family and 
descendants, when the hand which now writes shall 
be palsied in death, to cherish recollections of their 
father's labors and prayers ; and, while they pity and 
seek to forget his imperfections, which are many, let 
them regard his here recorded last injunction — to live 
for eternity. My hope is in and through the merits 
of Jesus Christ alone. Let my dear family love and 
serve and confide in him, and in him only/' 

For months following his departure the bereaved 

family continued to receive new testimonials to his 

worth; and learned, as they had never known it 

before, how dearly he had been loved, how high in 

public estimation he had stood. Among the many 

expressions which were received was one from the 

Board of the American Baptist Publication Society, 

signed by Mr. Henry Croskey — who had been called 

to fill temporarily the office of Chairman, vacated 

by the death of Mr. Crozer — and attested by Dr. J. 

* Five at the time of his death. 
21 Q 



242 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

H. Castle, Secretary; another from the Executive 
Committee of the American Baptist Missionary- 
Union; also a very interesting communication from 
his former associates of the Christian Commission, 
signed by Mr. Geo. H. Stuart, Bishop Simpson, Mr. 
Stephen Cohvell, Mr. Joseph Patterson, and Horatio 
Gates Jones, Esq., the surviving trustees. 

Communications of similar character, all expressive 
of regard for Mr. Crozer personally, and indicative 
of high esteem for his Christian character, were re- 
ceived from the American Baptist Home Mission 
Society, the American Sunday-school Union, the 
Pennsylvania Training School for Feeble-minded 
Children, the Union School and Children's Home, 
the Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia, the Penn- 
sylvania Colonization Society, the Delaware County 
National Bank, the Pennsylvania Baptist General 
Association, the Pennsylvania Baptist Education 
Society, and the Philadelphia Baptist Association. 

Mr. Crozer's desire, so often expressed, that the 
work of Christian beneficence which he had begun 
might go on in the lives of his children, was destined 
to be happily fulfilled. Within a month from the 
time when they laid him in the grave, they estab- 
lished, as a tribute of respect to his memory, a mis- 
sionary memorial fund, in which, to use the beautiful 
thought of Dr. Caldwell, "They allow the spirit 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZEB. 243 

which ruled his earthly life to build his monument." 
The fund was given in trust to the American Baptist 
Publication Society. The particulars of this tasteful 
gift are gathered from the records of the Society. 

"Upland, Pa., April, 1866. 
" To the Board of Managers of the American Baptist 
Publication Society : 

" We, the family of the late John P. Crozer, desire 
to erect a Missionary Memorial. His humility 
as a man, his devotion to the cause of Christ, his 
dislike of worldly show, his favorite mode of bene- 
ficence, — unite with our own personal preferences, in 
suggesting that this Memorial should not consist in a 
monumental pile of marble or granite, the magnifi- 
cence of which might please the taste of some occa- 
sional observer. The Memorial, it seems to us, should 
be one that, by its influence under the Divine bless- 
ing, will bring, through all coming time, joy to the des- 
olate, sinners to Christ, and glory to God. We, there- 
fore, deem it best to establish a Missionary Memorial. 

"And, knowing that the clear departed one was 
deeply interested in the religious condition of the 
Freedmen of this country, and that, previously to 
his death, he was earnestly considering the best mode 
of aiding them, — we, his widow and children, would 
take up and complete his unfinished work; and, 



244 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZE R. 

therefore, offer to the Board of the American Baptist 
Publication Society, in trust, the sum of Fifty Thou- 
sand Dollars, to be sacredly held by you as the 

JOHN P. CROZER MEMORIAL FUND FOR MISSIONS 
AMONG THE COLORED PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY. 

" This Missionary Memorial Fund, consisting 
of fifty thousand dollars, we tender to you in perpe- 
tuity, on the following conditions and limitations, viz : 

"1. That it shall be invested and kept in either 
United States or in Pennsylvania State Government 
loans, or in the funded debt of the city of Philadel- 
phia, or in bond and first mortgage on real estate in 
said city, or in first mortgage upon Pennsylvania 
Central Railroad, or in well-secured ground-rents in 
Philadelphia ; as may be decided upon and approved 
by any existing Board of Managers, at any stated 
meeting of said Board : such approval, however, 
must have the sanction of at least two-thirds of the 
entire Board ; and the names of those voting in the 
affirmative must be recorded on the minutes of the 
Board. 

" 2. Should the American Baptist Publication 
Society, at any future time, by any regular or legiti- 
mate proceeding or action, decide to change its name 
or title, or become united with, or merged into any 
kindred society of the Baptist denomination, engaged 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE. 245 

in a similar work, then this donation may be placed 
under the direction, and be subject to the control of 
such new organization ; but the purposes of the donors, 
as herein specified, must be sacredly regarded, and 
neither the principal sum of fifty thousand dollars, 
nor the income accruing therefrom, shall be diverted, 
or suffered to flow into any other channel, or for any 
other object, than those herein specified. If, at any 
time, the principal sum of the said fifty thousand 
dollars, or any part thereof, or the income accruing 
from the said principal sum of fifty thousand dollars, 
shall be diverted from the objects and purposes herein 
specified, then the said principal sum of fifty thousand 
dollars shall revert back to the donors, their heirs or 
assigns. 

" 3. That the Society shall keep open, upon its 
ledger, an account entitled The John P. Crozer Mis- 
sionary Memorial Fund, to which shall be credited 
the income from the invested principal of fifty thou- 
sand dollars, and to which shall be charged all 
donations made on the account of this Fund. 

" 4. That the income, or revenue which may accrue 
from the investment of this principal sum of fifty 
thousand dollars, shall be expended annually as fol- 
lows, viz : 

" (1.) One-fourth of the income from this Memo- 
rial Fund shall be used annually in supplying 

21 * 



246 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

Sunday-school library books and publications to Bap- 
tist Sunday-schools of colored children. 

"All applications for aid from this Fund shall be 
carefully considered and acted upon by the Board of 
Managers, and grants shall be made only to such 
schools as are found to be really needy. No school 
shall receive the benefit of this fund to a greater 
amount of value than from ten to sixteen dollars. 

" Our own observation confirms us in the opinion, 
previously expressed by the departed loved one to 
whom this Memorial is erected, that gifts are more 
valued, and, generally, more effective, when not 
obtained without some cost and effort on the part of 
the recipients. We, therefore, strongly recommend, 
that, as a general rule, Sunday-schools applying for 
aid from this fund, shall, as a condition, be required 
to purchase from the Board books equal in value to 
the amount donated. 

" (2.) One-fourth of the income from this Memo- 
rial Fund shall be expended annually in support- 
ing good Sunday-school missionaries among the 
colored people, who shall seek to strengthen and im- 
prove the Sunday-schools already in existence, and to 
aid in the formation of new Baptist Sunday-schools, 
wherever there is a hope of their being permanently 
sustained. 

" (3.) One-fourth of the income from the said 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 247 

Memorial Fund shall be annually expended in 
furnishing colored pastors of churches with suitable 
books for their libraries, to aid them in their pulpit 
preparations. 

" The benefits of this fund shall be given only to 
those pastors who are recognized by the Board of the 
American Baptist Publication Society as ministers of 
good Christian character and of approved ministerial 
standing in the denomination. And we require that 
the Board will, at all times, take the requisite mea- 
sures to fully satisfy themselves with reference to the 
worthiness of each applicant, especially when living 
at a distance. No pastor may receive a greater 
amount from this fund than from ten to sixteen 
dollars' worth of books. 

" Without positively specifying the books that shall 
be given in each case, we would strongly recommend, 
that the grants shall consist of books like the 'En- 
cyclopedia of Religious Knowledge/ 'The Blood of 
Jesus/ 'Fuller's Works/ 'Pengilly's Scripture Guide 
to Baptism/ ' Baptist Church Directory/ and the like. 
The books furnished shall all be well bound and in 
good salable condition. 

" (4.) One-fourth of the income from the said Me- 
morial Fund shall be expended annually in aiding 
young colored men, members of Baptist churches, 
and approved by the churches to which they belong 



248 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEO ZEE. 



and the institutions of learning at which they are 
studying, as proper candidates for the gospel ministry, 
in obtaining such literary and theological instruction 
as their talents and circumstances may require. The 
aid may be given in the form of necessary text-books, 
and in the payment of tuition; and shall be extended 
by the Board through the school or institution, that, 
in their judgment, is, at the time, most effectually 
prosecuting the work of training a ministry for our 
colored churches. 

u 5. It is the desire of the donors that the income 
from this Missionary Memorial Fund of fifty thou- 
sand dollars shall be divided and expended equally 
each year in prosecuting the four kinds of mission- 
work above indicated. But, should the demand for 
aid in behalf of any one of the above specified kinds 
of mission-work not be equal in any given year, after 
a proper publicity has been given of the existence of 
such aid, to the one-fourth of the income, for the 
year, from the Memorial Fund of fifty thousand 
dollars, then, in such case, the unexpended balance 
may be expended for such of the other specified kinds 
of mission- work as, in the judgment of the Board, 
needs it most. 

"6. This Memorial Fund is given expressly for 
the benefit of the colored people. But, if at any time, 
the race should become extinct or greatly reduced, so 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZEB. 249 

that from these, or from any other reasons, the de- 
mand on the Board for aid for the colored people, in 
either of the four kinds of mission -work herein 
specified, is not equal to the income accruing from the 
said Memorial Fund of fifty thousand dollars, 
then the unexpended balance may be used by the 
Board in furnishing libraries to white Sunday-schools 
and to pastors of white churches; under the same 
conditions aud limitations as Mr. John P. Crozer 
specified in his donations to the Society for these 
purposes. 

"7. It is especially stipulated that the yearly in- 
come derived from one-eighth part of said Memorial 
Fund shall be expended in the four different ways 
above designated, among needy applicants from evan- 
gelical churches irrespective of denomination. And 
this, in the opinion of the donor of this eighth part 
of the Memorial Fund, will accord with the views 
of the beloved parent, w T hose language on his dying 
bed was : i How small denominational differences 
appear on the threshold of eternity!' It is further 
stipulated, that such publicity shall be given to the 
provisions of this article as the Board of the Ameri- 
can Baptist Publication Society shall deem just, and, 
that in the event that, at the expiration of any year, 
any portion of the income derived from said one- 
eighth part shall remain undistributed, the said 



250 LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZEE. 

Board of the American Baptist Publication Society 
shall distribute this remaining portion as hereinbefore 
directed concerning the income derived from the 
other seven-eighth parts of said fund. 

"8. That the Board of the American Baptist Pub- 
lication Society shall publish annually a detailed 
report of the grants made ; and of the work done by 
the expenditure of the income from this Memorial 
Fund of fifty thousand dollars. A copy of said 
report shall be sent annually to each of the donors 
while they live, and to some one representative of 
each after their death. 

" The donors shall have at all times the privilege 
of examining the records of the Board, respecting the 
investment of the principal sum of fifty thousand 
dollars constituting this Missionary Memorial Fund, 
and of the expenditure of its income. 

"9. The terms and conditions of this donation 
must be confirmed by a two-thirds vote of the mem- 
bers of the Board, and shall be spread in full upon 
the Minutes of the Board, and be read in their hear- 
ing as often as once a year; we suggest that it be at 
the first regular meeting in each year. 

"Sallie L. Crozer, $6,250.00; Samuel A. Crozer, 
$6,250.00; Margaret Crozer Bucknell, $6,250.00; 
Elizabeth Crozer Griffith, $6,250.00; J. Lewis Crozer, 
$6,250.00; George K. Crozer, $6,250.00; Robert H. 



LIFE CF JOHN P. CEOZER. 251 

Crozer, $6,250.00; Emma Crozer, $6,250.00— making 
in all, $50,000.00." 

After the reading of the above communication, the 
following resolution was unanimously adopted : 

"Resolved, That this Board gratefully accept this 
generous donation of the family of the late Mr. John 
P. Crozer, upon the terms and stipulations named." 

All the members of the Board present, being nine- 
teen in number, voted in the affirmative. Whereupon 
the secretary announced, that more than two-thirds 
of the resident members of the Board having voted 
in favor of the resolution, the Memorial Fund had 
been accepted with its stipulations by the Board. 

On the acceptance of this trust by the Board of 
the Society, in the manner, and on the conditions 
proposed, the amount was at once passed over to the 
treasurer, and by a unanimous vote of the Board, 
invested as follows ;— $15,000 in U. S. 7.30's; $15,000 
in Penn. E. E. 1st Mortgage Bonds; $10,000 in City 
6s, New; $10,000 in State 6s, War Loan. 

When the announcement of this large donation 
w r as made to the Society, at its annual meeting, May 
21, 1866, Bartholomew T. Welch, D. D., led the 
congregation in a prayer of thanksgiving, that will 
never be forgotten by those who united in it. 

The Society, by a unanimous vote, placed upon its 
record the following commendatory minute : 



252 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

" The Committee to which was referred the propo- 
sition to establish the John P. Crozer Missionary 
Memorial Fund, ask permission to report : 

" John P. Crozer is happy in a double life. Death 
has given him a place elsewhere, and yet has not 
been able altogether to take him away from his old 
sphere. Gone forward into the world of light be- 
yond, not his name only, but his spirit, still lives 
here, in those born of his blood, showing that money 
is not the only heritable possession. For it is no 
dishonor to his family — they will count it their joy — 
to trace their noble beneficence back to a spring in 
him, whose name they are proud to bear. They 
allow the spirit which ruled his earthly life also to 
build his monument, now that he is dead. They 
let him still live, they help him to live grandly, and 
with a longer, unending life of good in the work 
which they empower this Society to do. They trust 
his memory, not to local and perishable stone, but to 
a work which shall find its place wherever there is a 
black man in America — in a work which has some- 
thing of the immortality of the gospel itself. They 
might 'give bond in stone' that his name should 
endure. They wisely choose to commit it to the 
gratitude of the poor, and to link it with the pro- 
gress of the knowledge of the kingdom of God. 
It is no uncertain trust. He shall live, known or 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 253 

unknown, in the words of teachers, in the pages of 
books, in the tuition of ministers, so long as this 
country shall have a ministry for his Redeemer. 
Though the name were forgotten, he will live in a 
work which is for the eternal word of God, and in 
the immortal minds of men, and through the genera- 
tions of a future whose end is not to be seen. 

"But this Society, ready and solicitous to do honor 
to Mr. Crozer, accepts this trust, not for his sake 
more than for the good of the race, which, from his 
early days, touched the sympathies of his generous 
soul. As his sun sinks into another horizon, theirs 
rises in the east. They come up stretching their 
hands of hope northward, and their life comes out 
of his grave. So has Providence timed this magnifi- 
cent gift with a magnificent opportunity. Both of 
them we hail with grateful praise to God. We 
hear in them the call of our Lord to this Society. 
It is the first step and prophecy of a destiny laid 
upon us to meet and bless this race coming up out 
of their darkness and sorrow after the light of Christ. 
It is our ordination to one of the divinest ministries 
of our time. It leads where, unless faith fail, and 
love to Christ and his poor shall die, there will be 
others to follow. We are encouraged, then, to take 
up this trust in the spirit in which it is imposed. 
Their honor for the head of their family is ours 

22 



254 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZFR. 

also. Their and his purpose of blessing to the en- 
franchised bondmen, to the children of Africa, is 
ours. Trustees of a benefit so ample, so timely, so 
free, we should count it our honor to fulfill, to en- 
large it. The Society will not hesitate to express 
its feeling in reference to this proceeding. The 
following resolve is offered : 

" Resolved, That this Society, accepting and approv- 
ing, in its purpose and conditions, the trust com- 
mitted to the Board by the family of the late Mr. 
John P. Crozer, with its great and welcome obliga- 
tions, also places upon its record its appreciation 
of this unusual and magnificent benefaction, and 
hereby offer to Mrs. Crozer and her children the 
assurance of cordial sympathy, both in the loss they 
have sustained and in the honor they propose to the 
lamented head of their family. 

" For the Committee, 
"S. L. Caldwell." 

This useful and beautiful benefaction was only the 
beginning of that new life which Mr. Crozer was 
destined to live in the lives of his children. In 
addition to continuing and enlarging his annual cha- 
rities, they now contemplated a measure of much 
larger beneficence. The institution of learning which 
had been established at great cost at Upland had 



i 



LIFE OF JOHN r. CROZER. 255 

proved a disappointment to its founder, from causes 
which have already been described. During the war 
for his country he had placed the building, as we have 
seen, at the disposal of the government, for a hospital, 
at a time when it was greatly needed for the sick and 
wounded of our patriot soldiery. It was now occu- 
pied temporarily by a military school ; and it became 
a question for his children to determine for what 
purpose this costly structure should be permanently 
used. About three months after the death of Mr. 
Crozer a member of his family suggested the idea of 
devoting it to the purposes of theological instruction. 
The suggestion was received with favor, and became 
a frequent topic of conversation in the household. 

Its situation was suitable, being about fifteen 
miles south of Philadelphia, and within half a mile 
of the city of Chester, on the Philadelphia and Bal- 
timore Railroad. The building, also, was found to 
be admirably adapted to the purpose. Had it been 
designed expressly for a theological school, it would 
hardly have been different. It was substantially 
built and provided with all needful conveniences, 
having accommodations for a hundred students, and 
enclosing a neat chapel, large enough to contain about 
four hundred persons. It had ample grounds, com- 
manding an extended view of the Delaware, with its 
snowy sails, on the one hand ; and of a fertile agricul- 



256 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

tural district, dotted with suburban residences, on 
the other ; and containing a fine natural grove, which 
stretches to the margin of Chester Creek, whose full 
and flowing waters mark the eastern boundary of the 
place. But, before reaching a final decision, it was 
thought best to deliberate and consult. 

" Is a new seminary needed ? Will the denomina- 
tion receive and sustain it ? Will its establishment 
interfere with the prosperity of our University at 
Lewisburg ?" were questions that were often pondered 
with anxiety. Mr. Crozer had done very much to 
establish the University at Lewisburg ; and his widow 
and children were unwilling to do anything, however 
good in itself, that could possibly affect it injuriously. 
As early as the middle of July, I860, and before the 
family had reached any decision whatever, one of 
their number addressed a note to Dr. J. R. Loomis, 
President of the University at Lewisburg, inquiring 
whether, in his judgment, it would be wise to endow 
a theological seminary at Upland ; to transfer theo- 
logical instruction from Lewisburg, but to leave with 
the University all its present endowment; and so 
secure to the State two strong institutions — one for 
the literary, the other for the theological, training of 
our ministry. Dr. Loomis replied, that during the 
coming vacation he would visit the city and confer on 
the subject. 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CEOZEB. 257 

In the following September, a member of the 
family visited the Philadelphia Conference of Baptist 
Ministers, then in session, to consult with them with 
reference to the propriety of the proposed movement. 
There were present at the conference about fifty 
ministers. After a full consideration of the matter, 
the following preamble and resolutions, prepared by 
Dr. Geo. W. Anderson, were adopted with perfect 
unanimity and great enthusiasm : 

" Whereas, We have learned that it is the desire of 
the Messrs. Crozer that the buildings erected by the 
late J. P. Crozer, Esq., at Upland, for a normal 
school, should be employed in some way directly in 
the service of the Lord ; and 

" Whereas, We believe that the establishment of a 
thoroughly furnished theological seminary at that 
place would meet the hearty approval of the brethren 
generally in this and in neighboring States ; therefore 

"Resolved, That we approve, and heartily recom- 
mend the appropriation of the building for this 
purpose. 

" Resolved, That we have a high appreciation of the 
University at Lewisburg, and desire that it may con- 
tinue permanently in its present location, enlarging 
its means of usefulness year by year. Yet in our 
judgment the time has come when its real prosperity 

22 * R 



258 LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 

will be promoted by transferring the work of theo- 
logical instruction to a distinct and well-endowed 
institution near to this city ; leaving it with all its 
present endowment and apparatus to prosecute its 
literary work. 

" Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed 
to convey to the Messrs. Crozer, and the Boards and 
Faculty of the University at Lewisburg, our action 
on this subject, and to take such measures as may be 
necessary for the securing of the important object 
which we contemplate." 

Early in the next week, Dr. Loomis and Prof. 
Bliss visited the city, when an informal meeting of 
brethren was held to confer with them. Dr. Loomis 
acted as chairman, and Dr. Boardman as secretary of 
the meeting. After an interchange of views, the 
following paper was unanimously ordered to be sent 
to the Crozer family : 

"Philadelphia, Sept, 20, 1866. 

" To Messrs. Samuel A. Crozer, J. Lewis Crozer, 
George K. Crozer, and Robert H. Crozer : — Dear Bre- 
thren : An informal gathering of a few persons interested 
in the welfare of Baptist churches, was held at the 
rooms of the American Baptist Publication Society, yes- 
terday afternoon. The persons present were, — Rev. 
Messrs. J. R. Loomis, G. R. Bliss, W. Wilder, B. 
Griffith, P. S. Henson, J. H. Castle, J. Cooper, G. A. 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZEB. 259 

Peltz, K. Brooks, and G. D. Boardman, and Messrs. 
W: W. Keen, W. Bucknell, C. B. Keen, and H. G. 
Jones. 

" The question of a Theological Institution at Up- 
land, especially in its bearing on the prosperity of the 
University at Lewisburg, was freely discussed. The 
hope which has been awakened that such an institu- 
tion may be established on a broad basis, with gener- 
ous provision for all its wants, animated every one of 
the company with joy and gratitude. The brethren 
from Lewisburg entered heartily and fully into the 
consultation, and the following vote was unanimously 
adopted : 

" Resolved, That we express to the brethren Crozer 
our high gratification at learning of the purpose which 
they are contemplating, to establish a Theological 
school at Upland on the most munificent basis, — our 
hope that this plan may be carried out, — and our 
gratitude to God that he has suggested to them so 
grand an enterprise, promising incalculable good to 
the Church of Christ. 

"Be assured, dear brethren, that this vote gives 
but feeble expression to our feelings in view of the 
splendid enterprise which God has inclined you to 
consider, or to our conviction of the magnitude and 
value of the results which must follow the endow- 
ment of such a seat of theological learning. 



260 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZER. 

" While we thus communicate to you officially the 
proceedings of the meeting, we wish also to express 
personally our appreciation of the broad Christian 
generosity and enterprise which contemplate a project 
so grand in its proportions and so full of promise. 
We are, in the service of Christ, yours truly, 

" J. R. Loomis, Chairman. 
" Geo. D. Boardman, Secretary." 

At the above-mentioned meeting arrangements were 
also made to confer, informally, with the Trustees of 
the " University at Lewisburg." 

The way was now open, and all reasonable doubts 
being removed, the family hesitated no longer. On 
the 2d of November they jointly agreed to endow a 
Theological Seminary, and to call it, in memory of 
him whose name they so justly desired to perpetuate, 
" The Crozer Theological Seminary." 

The meeting of November 2, 1866, at which this 
conclusion was reached, deserves a passing considera- 
tion. It was held in that room of the residence at 
Upland which Mr. Crozer had used for his private 
office — the room where he wrote in his diary, where 
he often bent in secret earnest supplication, blending 
in one common prayer the welfare of his family and 
of the world. And now that prayer is answered. 
Around the table where he wrote, the chair at which 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CROZER. 261 

he knelt, his family are gathered, — and gathered for 
the welfare of the world. If the spirits of the de- 
parted are permitted to revisit the scenes of their 
earthly labor, how joyfully did he hover over the 
group he loved so well! how benignantly did he 
smile upon the work they were about to consummate ! 
His venerable widow is seated in the chair he used 
to occupy; all her children are around her; — her four 
sons, Samuel, Lewis, George, and Robert; her three 
daughters, Mrs. Bucknell, Mrs. Griffith, and Emma; 
and her two sons-in-law, Mr. Bucknell and Dr. Grif- 
fith — and together they consecrate to the holy cause 
they have espoused the princely sum of $275,000. 
This sum was composed as follows : 
The building and grounds, valued at . . $80,000 
Cash for erection of professors' houses . 30,000 

Cash for endowment 140,000 

Cash for library, by William Bucknell, Esq. 25,000 



Total $275,000 

On the fourth of April, 1867, the Legislature of 

Pennsylvania conferred upon the infant seminary a 

charter. 

The Trustees met for organization on the 12th of 

June. On the 21st of the same month the Board 

resolved upon the establishment of four departments 

of instruction : — 



262 LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZEE. 

1. Interpretation of the Bible; 2. Christian The- 
ology; 3. Church History; 4. Preaching and Pastoral 
Duties. 

The building and lands have been conveyed by 
deed to trustees, named in the act of incorporation. 
The houses for professors are in process of erection. 
All the money for the endowment fund has been paid 
into the hands of the treasurer, and is now bearing 
interest ; and the purchase of books from the library 
fund has already commenced. Some of the profes- 
sorships have already been filled by competent men, 
and others will soon be appointed. Thus, in the 
founding of a school of learning for his native county, 
Mr. Crozer, although disappointed, and at times al- 
most disheartened, was yet laying the foundations of a 
larger enterprise than he then conceived. Nor was it 
by accident ; for he had built in prayer, for the honor 
and glory of his Master and the welfare of his fellow- 
men. His diary, under date of August 21st, 1858, 
says : " As the time approaches for opening my school 
I feel deeply solicitous. I hope I have done right, 
but sometimes feel that I may not have taken the 
wisest measures; yet I cannot but trust all will prove 
well, and I commit all to my Lord and Master and seek 
his guidance" A life thus guided will not often err. 
It is hard for such a spirit to make mistake. An 



LIFE OF JOHN P. CBOZER. 263 

unseen hand is shaping the future of him who thus 
lives for duty and for God. 

In the purchase, a year later, of the additional 
land, not needed then for the school, but now 
so indispensable to the wants of the seminary, Mr. 
Crozer was also guided by a wisdom from above. 
His diary, under date of October 26, 1859, contains 
the passage: "Bought to-day a tract of land of 
thirty-six acres, near the school, at a high price. I 
scarcely know why I buy it ; but it may hereafter be 
desirable." Thus providentially was he guided to a 
result so important to the future of this noble enter- 
prise. He had aimed at the accomplishment of a use- 
ful purpose, and humbly sought the blessing of 
Heaven upon his effort; but he little thought his 
prayers would be answered in such liberal measure ; 
still less, that a source of anxiety and disappoint- 
ment would be so signally transfused into the crown- 
ing feature of his usefulness ; and less than all, that 
when his earthly life was ended, this least successful 
of his well-meant plans should be the one to bear his 
name, and best perpetuate his memory. 

When the new life he desired to live in the use- 
fulness of his children is ended, and their dust is 
mingled with his under the shadow of the funeral 
trees which mark the family resting-place at Upland, 
the work of his benevolence will continue, and other 



264 LIFE OF JOHN P. GEOZER. 

generations, with men of other races and in distant 
lands, will cherish and adorn his memory. Death is 
but the blissful consummation of such a life, " for I 
heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, write, 
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from 
henceforth ; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest 
from their labors, and their works do follow them." — 
Follow them whither f TV hither they go, nor linger 
a whit behind — on through all their changes — on and 
into — and through — all their eternity. 

" Think ye the notes of holy song 

On Milton's tuneful ear have died ? 
Think ye that Raphael's angel throng 

Has vanished from his side? 
Oh, no ! — We live our life again : 

Or warmly touched, or coldly dim, 
The pictures of the past remain — 

Man's works shall follow Aim/" 



THE END. 



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